Melodies of Life Chronicles: Endgame
by The Duelist of Dawn
Summary: The End is Here! Kuja needs to be stopped before the whole world ceases to exist at his hands!
1. CH 56: This is What we Have to Do

Duelist of Dawn: Hello, hello, hello! We have reached the final story of the Melodies of Life Chronicles! I'm finally here!

*Audience applause*

Duelist of Dawn: Machina, where are you pal!

Machina: Right here, boss! *Machina enters from front door* I see you're ready to get this party started.

Duelist of Dawn: Damn right... while I was away on vacation, I happened to do something big on Final Fantasy XII...

Machina: Do tell...

Duelist of Dawn: I have slain the best known as Yizamat! Finally one of the Superbosses has fallen to the Great Duelist of Dawn! Hahahahahaha!

Machina: DAMN BOSS! Yizamat is badass! That's quite an accomplishment!

Duelist of Dawn: Which is why I want this story to start, and I even got Final Fantasy XIII to play... all at a cheap price, too.

Machina: Great days are here for you, boss.

Duelist of Dawn: Sure are, my friend. Give the people the Disclaimer; I have another announcement to make.

Machina: Sure. The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his SI Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

Duelist of Dawn: And before the starting of the fourth story, I got to get something off my chest. *Gets serious face while looking at the fourth wall* Listen up, Ozma! You heard right, I killed Yizamat from Final Fantasy XII! And I'm coming for that ass next! You may have beaten me years ago, but Yizamat's death has renewed my gaming intellect to kill you! And after you, I'll come after Omega Mark XII back in FFXII, Omega Weapon of VIII along with Emerald and Ruby Weapon from VII. You will fall by my controller hands! And when I do well in XIII, any Superbosses in that game will be burning in Hell!

Machina: *Sweatdrops* Wow, boss has gone mad with destroying the Superbosses. Let's start the chapter now and he'll cool off by the next chapter...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 56<strong>

**This is What We Have To Do**

* * *

><p>[Ron's POV] [The Invincible's cockpit]<p>

It's been awhile since the 12 of us escaped Terra, after Kuja's freak-out destruction of his home planet. I really couldn't believe he thinks that just because he has power over all of us, and that he has an expiration limit on his life that no one should be allowed to live as well. I don't know what everyone else thought, but to me Kuja's just a spoiled crybaby right now. And then he views himself as the Black Mage race for having a limit, and he doesn't get that everyone has a limit on their life. He really should have been there when I and the gang gave that speech to Garland, but then again he still wouldn't care.

"Hey Ron," I turned to see Dagger and Eiko walk up to me. "You feeling okay?" Eiko asked.

"Yes and no," I admitted. "But then again, knowing that Kuja's going mad out there and nearly killed us and his own race back in Terra."

"What about what Garland did to you after you beat Eclipse?" Dagger asked.

I sighed, "That's something I know I have to live with... I'm anxiously awaiting the moment I grow a tail..."

The girls giggled a bit, "It's almost like you're dreading that moment." Eiko laughed.

"It will be something to tell the folks back home," I shrugged. "Of course it'll be like I'm crazy to say I just came back from a video game world that's as real as my own."

"We got over it, so should you." The youngest Summoner explained. "After all, Lovrina still loves you after all the secrets you kept, and understood why you kept it for so long. I do, and the rest of us do."

"Yeah," I nodded, looking to Dagger. "But are you going to be okay? I mean, this is the..."

"I'm riding on the airship that killed both of my mothers and destroyed the birthplace of me, Eiko, and Lovrina..." She interrupted.

"Yeah, that..."

"Don't worry about it..." She assured him, "Kuja, Eclipse and Garland were the ones who chose to destroy. Not the ship. And I want to stop blaming my sorrow on other things... Plus, it would be like I'm blaming you for the events as well since you now control the ship." She then walked up closer to the window in front of us. "We must end this once and for all..."

"I heard that..." I look over my shoulder to see Zidane and Lovrina come in. "We just need to find out how we get into the Tree this time, without having Kuja's lackeys get the drop on us." Zidane stated.

"No chance," I replied. "With all the Mist hanging around, we'll be seeing wall-to-wall Mist Monsters and Monsters from Terra, and ones that stemmed from the Iifa Tree. And they are a lot more powerful than the ones we faced in the Mist Continent. I bet even those regular monsters are gone with the new arrivals."

"Genocide..." Lovrina noted. "That means everywhere in the world is going to be filled with these Zombies and otherworldly enemies that killed off the normal wildlife and even plant life would be destroyed."

"Not if you're above the Mist," Zidane noted. "And we're lucky that places like Alexandria and Treno are high enough so the Iifa Tree's roots would probably pass over it."

"That's a relief..." Dagger said, sighing. "Alexandria doesn't need any more bad things happening to it, and I hope the Black Mage Village is okay as well."

"It will be," I assured her. "Remember, they have a barrier that separates them from the rest of the world. None of those roots should have reached it..."

"But wasn't that barrier broken down by Kuja?" Lovrina asked.

"With the Black Mage's returning home after Mount Gulug, they've had time to repair it." I replied. "They'll be fine..."

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Invincible – Interior)<p>

Vivi, Freya, Amarant, and Lani looked over the entire population of the Genome Race, both looking worried for them all. Despite all of that, the Genome were never alarmed... the only time they showed acknowledgment was when they realized that their home planet was about to be destroyed on the surface.

"We were lucky that Zidane and Dagger were able to get the Genome's on board the ship," Freya said. "It must have been difficult to talk with them..."

"Yeah, but it's not their fault," Vivi stated. "From what Zidane and Ron told us, none of them knows about living an actual life and yet they are all logical thinkers."

"That's why they never gave a damn about anything we said and spouted all that nonsense," Amarant figured.

"All you did was challenge them to a fight," Lani scoffed. "Even with all your insults, they never lifted a finger." She then sighed. "It makes me wonder how they will survive in this world."

"With the Black Mages, they will help," Vivi assured them all. "I believe they are not so different from how they acted when Zidane, Ron, Dagger, Quina, Choco, and I first came to their village. They won't know what to do unless they try and learn."

"That's true..." the bounty huntress stated. "And in our predicament, there may not be enough time for all of that."

"Let's make time then," Freya replied. "They don't deserve meaningless lives..."

"Hell, no one deserves that..." Amarant added.

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

After sometime later, we all arrived at the forest that led to the Black Mage Village. Lucky for us, we didn't have to go through the dead forest to reach the real forest. We put Quina's impromptu entrance from the bottom of the ship into good use and used the teleporter to transport ourselves down. Vivi and Zidane were the first ones to go, as they were planning to tell the leader about the situation while the rest of us waited with the Genomes. Quina explained how she stepped underneath the airship and was able to be transported inside before takeoff.

"Still, how did you end up underneath the airship?" I asked her.

"I chase after friends, but ground break under me," She stated. "Thought done for when rock try to smash me... I leap to rock that had symbol on it, and then arrive here."

"Wow..." I gasped. "Do you realize that all your life, you escape near-death? I mean Cleyra, the Outer Continent, and adding with all the things we did... you're the strongest Qu!"

"He does have a point," Lovrina pointed out. "If everything you've been through resulted in death for normal outcome, I'd say you're one of the toughest beings that ever lived."

Quina laughed, "Oh no... I just survive... Master Quale stronger than me."

"You ever thought of challenging him?" Eiko asked.

"Is possible..." the Qu replied. "I ask when we return to marshland..."

"Come to think of it, we probably want to check up on how the moogles are doing back home." Lovrina stated to Eiko.

"I want to come with you," Dagger replied. "After all, it is my home as well..."

"No problem!" Eiko exclaimed.

"We should all try to find the Chocobo's Paradise so Choco can see where he'll live after this whole mess is done," I said, looking to the golden chocobo.

"Kweh!" Choco nodded.

"What about you two?" Steiner asked Amarant and Lani.

"We could go back to the old game," Lani stated. "After all, these monsters might become a bigger nuisance..."

"And if they spawn a never-before-seen monster later," Amarant paused with a smirk, "That's going to be one Hell of a thrill..."

"Still looking for a fight," Freya sighed. "And I will help out the other Burmecians and Cleyrians to come together and rebuild our kingdom."

"If we have that time..." We all happened to turn to see Mikoto, the only other 'aware' Genome spoke up. But before anyone could voice against her, we heard the warping noise from middle of the ship. Soon we saw Zidane and Vivi appear from the teleporter to greet us.

"So what's the word?" I asked them.

"They say, come on in!" Vivi replied happily and Zidane added with a nod.

"Alright, let's get them into the village," I stated as we begun to make ready for the Genomes' new lives...

* * *

><p>Vivi, Zidane, and I had led them to the village. The other Black Mages seemed surprised at the new arrivals, but they welcomed them regardless. The Genomes seemed a bit uncomfortable, which was the first time I've seen them react, but I knew that they'd get used to this at some point. After a while, Vivi and I decided to go to the graveyard and see the Black Mage Elder Mr. 288.<p>

When we were walking towards the cemetery, we noticed a Mikoto walking away from the cemetery, and towards the village.

'_Guess Mr. 288 has met one of the new arrivals,'_ I thought. Vivi and I walked into the cemetery.

Mr. 288 turned to us, and he seemed even happier from the look on his face. After hanging around Vivi so long plus seeing how delighted the baby chocobo was born before we went after Kuja, even not having a visible face, I can tell the expression on the Mage Elder's face.

"Ah, you two have returned." He stated. "I can tell the days to come will be very eventful."

"I'll say," I replied. "And I saw that you were talking with one of the Genomes." He nodded back. "That's Mikoto, you could probably call her the only 'normal' one of the bunch since she can respond best."

"Thanks for helping us!" Vivi said excitedly, "They were uneasy at first, but I think they'll get along fine."

Mr. 288 shook his head and replied with, "There's no need to thank me. You've done us all a great service."

"It wasn't a big deal..." Vivi replied back, "Well anyway, everything's gonna be okay!" He then looked up at me and said. "I'm gonna go back to the village." I nodded, as he ran back to the main square.

"So, this was Vivi's idea?" I heard Mr. 288 ask as I turned back.

"Yeah he's a smart kid," I replied. "He wanted the Genomes to start their new lives here. I must say, he picked a good spot."

Mr. 288 nodded in agreement and turned to the various tombstones of the Black Mages that died, "We're similar in many ways... maybe we can understand them better, and they might open up to us."

"Maybe… Vivi and I were also hoping that if Black Mages and Genomes could get along, then maybe humans and Black Mages can get along, too." I replied. "I mean, Zidane and Vivi got along right from the start..."

"And before that, it was Vivi and yourself," the Black Mage Elder stated.

I couldn't help but smile at the though. "Yeah, like Vivi and me. He was the first friend I made since coming to this world..."

"Yes, Vivi told us about where your own true origins lie, and we hope you return home," He replied, "But in any case, we'll take good care of the Genomes; Your friends are our friends."

"Thank you," I said as I bowed in respect before returning to the main village.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV)<p>

The first thing Choco did when he reached the village was to check on his new baby brother with No. 33 and No. 111 at the Chocobo Stable. No one could blame him since the baby was the only Chocobo he seen in this world aside from the dream world. The baby was happy to see Choco as well, able to tell even with the color change. Eiko was there with one of the Genomes, the latter looking at the baby Chocobo and Choco at the same time.

"Is this a monster?" the Genome asked looking at the baby chocobo while the baby was staring right back.

"He's a chocobo, not a monster," No. 33 told him, helping the Genome learn about animal life. "He's called Bobby Corwen."

"Oh, you gave him a name!" Eiko exclaimed.

"Kweh!" Choco added.

"Yeah, Bobby Corwen." The Black Mage nodded. "Isn't it a great name?"

"Sounds great!" Eiko agreed, "Bobby Corwen, huh?"

The Genome and the baby chocobo kept staring at each other for about a few minutes more. That's when the baby ran up to him with a short cry, reaching out to the foreign person. Of course, the Genome became alarmed as the baby nuzzled his leg.

"I think Bobby Corwen likes you, too." No. 33 said with a happy voice.

"It won't bite?" the Genome asked cautiously.

Eiko groaned, "Oh, come on! He's just a little baby chocobo." She told him. "He wouldn't try to harm you..."

Of course, the Genome wasn't convinced and took a careful step backwards which caused the baby chocobo to stumble over. The baby didn't let that stop him as it cried out for the Genome and walked closer. Surprisingly, the Genome made a run for it with the baby coming after him.

"Kweh!" Choco shouted as he chased after his baby brother.

"Bobby Corwen! No! Come back here!" No. 33 protested, but the Genome and two chocobos disappeared deeper into the village. He could do nothing but be amazed as how attached the baby chocobo was to the Genome. "Wow. I think Bobby Corwen really likes our new friend."

Eiko sweatdropped at how the Black Mage kept using the full name of the baby chocobo and asked him, "Can't you just call him by his first name...?"

* * *

><p>At the Item Shop, Zidane and Quina were with another Genome who was looking at the various items with curiosity and wonder.<p>

"See anything you like?" Zidane asked his fellow Genome.

"Why do you display these items?" the Genome asked.

"Why?" No. 163, the item shop owner replied. "For the customers, I think…" He paused, ending up questioning himself on the answer. From the sound of things, he was still learning the ways of maintaining the job of shop owner.

"What are customers?" the Genome asked once more.

No. 163 had a thoughtful look to the ceiling before replying, "Well, they bring money, and they hand the money over to the shop, and then-"

"What is money?" the Genome cut him off with another question.

Now the Black Mage tried to wrap him mind on the new question, and had a hard time answering it, "Money is, uh…" He obviously couldn't respond to that.

"I guess you're still learning about things yourself," Zidane responded sympathetically.

"Yeah," the Black Mage nodded sadly.

"Why you care about small things?" Quina spoke up, having all eyes on her. "World very simple place!"

Both the new Genome and the Black Mage blinked for a minute, "It is?" they said at the same time.

Quina nodded, "World only have two things: things you can eat and things you no can eat."

Zidane groaned and slapped his forehead, "Oh man..."

* * *

><p>Right outside the item shop nearest the inn, Amarant and Lani listened to another Black Mage and a female Genome converse by the pond, looking at the water.<p>

"Does the water here ever stay still?" the Genome asked, watching the water in the pond flow in from a river.

The Black Mage with her, No. 87, looked back her. "Water flows, doesn't it? I mean, if any other planet has water that's what it would do... right?"

The female Genome shook her head, "The water of Bran Bal was always still..."

"Ah," No. 87 nodded in acceptance, "Hey, did you know that time flows, just like water?"

Genome looked thoughtful back at the flowing water, "So, water and time both flow in Gaia...?"

As they continued to talk, Freya walked up to bounty hunter duo while catching on the conversation.

Amarant sighed and shook his head...

"Looks like they're off to a good start," Freya said to them.

"Yeah," Lani nodded. "But you can't expect to grasp the bigger parts of life without focusing little things..."

"Hmph... It's like watching kids play." Amarant said.

"It's not their fault..." the Burmecian Knight told him. "They've only just begun to live their lives..."

"And we know so much about what they try to focus on, it doesn't need to be said," the bounty huntress added. "So, I can understand that they are acting like this..."

Amarant shrugged, yet nodded in understanding. "...Can lost time be recovered?"

"I don't know... But there's only one thing we can do." Lani stated as she left the scene.

"Of course," The bounty hunter nodded as he left after his partner, leaving Freya to look over the village with both Black Mage and Genome inhabitants.

The Burmecian Knight felt a sense of righteous pride to herself, her friends and the people of Gaia while feeling righteous fury towards Kuja for trying to take this world away. As she left after the bounty hunters she stated, "We must protect them from anyone who tries to take their time away from them!"

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

When I walked to a clearing from the cemetery, I saw a Genome run past me with the baby Chocobo chasing after him and Choco chasing after it. I laughed a little at the scene continued to walk on, and found myself walking towards a healthy tree, like it was fresh from growing during springtime. After piloting the Invincible, I felt like I just wanted to relax and decided to park myself underneath it and lean back on the trunk.

'_It's almost over...'_ I thought to myself. _'We go to the Iifa Tree, beat down anything that gets in our way, while taking down Kuja and save the world from being assimilated by killing off the Iifa Tree. With everyone's help, it's possible to do it...'_ I then felt sad and closed my eyes, _'Then, I'm going to have to leave all of this behind... good friends, a place that turns out to be real, and even a woman that I love... Dammit, it's like I'm leaving a good future here...'_

On cue, I felt someone sit on my lap and wrap my arms around the waist and in turn wrapping their arms around my shoulders. I came back to reality and opened my eyes just as Lovrina laid her head on my chest, looking up at me with a smile.

"Hi there," She said softly.

"Hello," I smiled back. "Everything alright in the village?"

"As good as things can be for the Genomes right now," She replied. "They're just learning the ways of this world, about every little thing."

"Yeah, the Genomes only look at things logically," I remembered. "Though, I think they are learning about emotions..."

"How so?" She asked.

"On my way over here, I saw one of them being chased by the baby chocobo," I said humorously, which got her giggling as well.

"I guess it must like him," She smiled.

"Only reason for a baby to chase after someone," I stated. "For affection..." I then looked up at the tree. "We can't let Kuja end this..."

"Yes, I know," Lovrina nodded. "Kuja's just being selfish now... from what you and Zidane told me he was just seeing to rebel and be his own person. But now he's full of power and using recklessly."

"Ain't that the truth," I nodded. "He's gotta realize that not everything lasts forever... I can't wait to drive that into his skull; at the very least he should go peacefully, because I know Zidane doesn't want it that bad for his brother."

"What about you?" Lovrina asked. "Because of your blood the way it is, Kuja's your brother as well... would you kill him like you did Eclipse?"

"With Eclipse... he was out for killing as much as Kuja is now," I stated. "Only difference is, he was loyal to Terra's cause… Kuja's just like a kid seeing as he didn't grow up. I'll do him like I did Zidane and pound the sense into him before he dies from his expiration."

Lovrina kissed me on the cheek, "At least you're not out to kill him in cold blood… but we still can't forgive him for all the trouble he caused and as long as we stick together, we'll save this world and find away to save Gaia from being assimilated." She then snuggled in closer to me. "But for right now, let's just enjoy this moment together..."

"I got no problem with that," I replied as we begun our passionate make-out.

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

After a few hours of getting the Genomes ready for life, our own thoughts on everything that's happening, and even the future, we decided to go get Kuja now. All of us now joined up at the village square, and I just happened to overhear Dagger and Steiner talking about something. I decided to listen to them. "Princess, this is what you really wish?"

"What are you talking about?" Dagger asked.

"Kuja must have done something in the Iifa Tree to send its roots all underneath Gaia to cover the world in Mist," the Alexandrian Knight stated. "Do you not think it wise to consult Regent Cid before the final battle?"

Dagger shook her head almost immediately, "Kuja plans on destroying Gaia," She stated. "If I go to Lindblum now and tell the Regent about it, it might cause a panic. I'm sure everyone is apprehensive about the reappearance of the Mist... I need Uncle Cid to protect Lindblum right now."

"I'll say," I spoke up. "No one else has an idea of how power Kuja is right now... plus with the reemergence of the Mist, there's going to be Monsters that their knights must focus on to keep the people safe. It's our job to stop Kuja."

Dagger nodded, and turned to Steiner. "Even if we go to Lindblum to get equipped, please don't tell Uncle Cid about our plans."

"As you wish, Princess," Steiner nodded.

That's when Zidane walked into the clearing. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." Lani said. "Kuja's going to get his..."

"You haven't got a chance..." Everyone turned to see Mikoto walk from another path in the village, still with that stern look on her face. "You saw Kuja's power and probably even sensed it... He destroyed a world by himself...you don't even have a million in one chance of defeating him... you'll all die."

The Black Mage that was at the clearing spoke, "Wow! This girl knows lots of difficult words!"

Zidane turned to him, "Doesn't she? She's a bit cynical, but... Take good care of her, will ya? Her name is Mikoto. She's kinda like my little sister."

Mikoto's first emotion was of shock that Zidane considered her like that... "Wha-"

Zidane interrupted her, by continuing to talk to her, "Mikoto! Listen to your big brother and make some friends!"

The Genome girl, turned away stammering, "H-How silly!" I managed to see the hint of a blush in her cheeks.

"We might be desperate insects to Kuja, but I'll show you how powerful we can be." Zidane stated.

Steiner nodded, reciting a quote, "'Even a fly lives for a day!'"

"That's not what Zidane meant, Steiner." I told him. "Besides, that would be in Kuja's case trying to destroy everything just for not being able to live forever."

Zidane nodded. "Let's go to the Iifa Tree! We won't let Kuja have his way!"

We all nodded and then rounded everyone up to go board the Invincible...

* * *

><p>Once inside the Invincible, I immediately headed for the cockpit to man the controls and linked my mind to the Terran Airship. I awaited everyone's arrival inside, feeling them all transport from the symbol outside the village and into the airship one by one. Once I felt the last one enter, I saw Lovrina run into the cockpit.<p>

"Ron, everyone's inside," She stated. "We can leave at anytime..."

"Alright," I nodded and turned straight ahead to face the window/screen. "Next stop, the Iifa Tree!" I shouted as I commanded the airship to move and turn towards the destination.

* * *

><p>Lucky for us, it was on the same Continent as the Black Mage Village and all we had to do was to go fly over the mountains. Once we did that, we saw the Iifa Tree expelling enormous amounts of Mist, more than the other places were and possibly more than the entire Mist Continent. In fact, it covered up the place so much, that you only saw the top of the Tree! But there was something else I could see... more roots that wrapped around the tree...<p>

"No way!" Zidane gasped at the sight of the Iifa Tree area. "This much Mist?"

"No wonder the whole world's covered in Mist," Dagger added with a shocked expression of her own. "More roots gathered up around the tree and like Ron said earlier, there has to be more digging underneath the ground and reaching to the other continents."

"But what's that over there?" Vivi asked pointing above the Iifa Tree. We saw a large purple sphere hovering above it. I narrowed my eyes at the sphere...

"That is where Kuja's at," I stated.

"Do you know what's in there?" Lani asked.

"The way that Kuja wants to kill the whole planet..." I replied.

"Then let's stop talking and get in there..." Amarant stated.

"Right," I nodded as I moved the Invincible forward into the sphere... _'Let's get this thing over with...'_ But once we got into the sphere, we found ourselves in a foggy plain that had its grasslands being severely killed out. That's when I found out where we were by looking at our altitude and looking at a familiar landmark of the Ice Cavern. "The Hell?"

"How did we end up outside the Ice Cavern?" Steiner gasped.

"Unless this is what the portal does for us?" Freya wondered.

"No," I stated, not believing what had just occurred. "We're actually outside the Ice Cavern..."

"But how?" Vivi asked. "I thought that portal would lead us to Kuja."

I sighed, "It means that this is another one of those changes that I caused with my appearance. Now we have to find a way to get that open and I don't know how to do that..."

"That is going to be tough," Lovrina said, walking up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But we'll figure it out..."

"Still, I don't think we have any leads to get that information unless Ron can think of something else to do..." Lani stated.

"Yeah, but we don't have time to do any of these little quests on the side," Amarant scoffed.

That's when I gasped as I figured it out, "Sidequests..."

"What?" Eiko asked.

"Sidequests! That's it!" I exclaimed as was able to smile at the silver lining we just got.

"Sidequests?" Dagger wondered.

"Every game always had some things that were optional to do," I stated. "And in this case, it's fitting since if Kuja wiped the floor with us, we need to get stronger."

"But why wait?" Zidane asked. "While we're doing all of this, Kuja's off going after the thing that will destroy this world."

"He won't," I assured him. "Even with his time running out, he would want to savor the moment of destroying the means right in front of us because it would mean coming so close and yet so far. Despite how insane Kuja has gotten, he'll stay fancy and play the waiting game."

"Alright," Freya spoke up. "What are these sidequests we have to do?"

I had to think for the moment of all the sidequests this game had and think which ones needed to be done. "Well, it's kind of the same thing as having the last look at life before we have to go... for instance, Quina would have to fight her Master in order to gain her best weapon and show how much she has come up in the world."

"That true," Quina nodded.

"Choco still has to find the Chocobo's new world and see where he looks forward to living after all of this is over," I continued with Choco giving off a happy *Kweh!* "And then, we can possibly go check on your places like Madain Sari, Alexandria..."

"Well not Alexandria," Dagger spoke up, having everyone turn to her. "It would be the same reason of not going to Lindblum; everyone there needs to take care of things there and it would cause a panic, especially since we can't go in..."

"But we can go to Madain Sari," Eiko exclaimed. "I hope the moogles are okay..."

"Me too," Lovrina added. "I also heard, before we got to Eclipse's Castle, that the mailing system of the moogles, Mognet Central is being shut down. Maybe we can help with that..."

"Yeah," I nodded. "It was a wonder why during this entire journey, we didn't get stopped by Moogles wanting us to deliver mail."

"But what about getting into where Kuja is," Amarant asked sternly, "All of this can't be the reason why we're being transported to somewhere else in Gaia... and it may be Kuja who caused it to be like that."

"But from inside the place?" Vivi wondered. "Clearly he must have something or someone else to block it off..."

I gasped again, but this time in horror as I figured out what could cause it, "Oh no..."

"What's wrong?" Zidane asked as I turned to him.

"I know who's doing it..." I said, slapping my forehead. "Ozma..."

"Ozma?" Lani asked. "What's an Ozma?"

Lovrina gasped next, "It's one of the most powerful being that the Summoners long ago had to seal inside of a floating island. It took nearly an entire town's worth of us Summoners to seal it in!" Everyone bugged out at the relevation...

"Was it an Eidolon?" I asked.

"Some say it was since we had the power to seal it away," the ninja/Summoner continued, "Grandpa was one of the people to seal it when he was younger... Ozma is said to represent good and evil, light and darkness of the world."

"Do you know what it looks like?" Eiko asked. "Or rather any idea?"

Lovrina shook her head, "Everyone had their own ideas of what he looks like, so there's no telling what his true form..."

"So we kill this thing and we can get in?" Zidane asked.

"That's probably the best thing to do," I said. "Only there are a couple of things we have to do before fighting him."

"And that's..." Amarant pried.

"We've met friendly animals throughout our journey, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," Dagger said. "The Mu near Dali, the Ghost near Treno, the Ladybug near the Black Mage Village, the Yeti near Madain Sari, and the Nymph near the Iifa Tree..."

"That leaves four more," I added. "A Jabberwock nearest Oelivert..."

"Oh yeah," Zidane said. "While you and Choco were looking for treasure, we fought one of those things before you came along."

"A Feather Circle in the Lost Continent..." I said.

"Actually, you don't..." Freya said as she walked up to me and handed me a stone of a rare, dark blue color. "While chasing after Quina, I had to stop her from eating of this light blue Feather Circle and it gave me this as thanks, a Lapis Lazuli gem and told me to deliver it to a Garuda in Popos Heights, which is near Gizamaluke's Grotto."

"Guess that leaves one more," Zidane added.

"Yeah, a Yan in Vile Island..." I stated.

"Uh... are you sure about that?" Lani asked, looking worried. "I've heard stories about that place and the Yans are not exactly the _friendly_ type; they are vicious! What's the point of going there?"

"Because after we meet them all, the friendly Yan can help us weaken Ozma..." I replied.

"It can do that," Lovrina asked, to which I nodded. "Then let's do that... Ozma's more dangerous if it and Kuja are running loose."

"And to do that, we need to find this Floating Island you talked about," Steiner said. "But I think we can wait on that until we focus on the other quests we should do..."

"You're right," I nodded as I linked my mind back to the Invincible. "So, where to first?"

"Let's go back to Marshlands!" Quina spoke up. "Closest thing to do... plus I must battle Master Quale."

"Alright, Qu's Marsh here we come..." I said as I turned the airship towards Lindblum's direction and started flying there. _'Let's hope we succeed...'_

* * *

><p>And that's the chapter! Sidequests begin next chapter!<p>

Next Time: First up is the Qu's Marsh to help Quina battle her Master (Scene of Quina and Quale crossing their fork weapons)

Then, we split up and search out the remaining friendly animals and help them out. (Scene of the Summoner Girls flying on Bahamut)

But I think Dagger will find out something more when she returns to Madain Sari (Scene of Dagger looking at the Eidolon Wall)

Next Chapter: Trials and Revelations Part 1: Quina's Battle and Dagger's Origins

Please Read and Review! Later!


	2. CH 57: Trials and Revelations: Quina

Duelist of Dawn: Finally, the chapter is alive and done! Good to finish off homework.

Ron: And while you're doing that, me and the others have to do the sidequests to actually get on with the main story.

Duelist of Dawn: Trust me; the sidequests are a way to filler up the story, but keep up some major stuff before getting to actually end.

Ron: Good point! Can't wait until we get there...

Duelist of Dawn: Also, Ozma soon is going to get his after a strategy I cooked up for him (laughs evilly)

Ron: I bet.

Duelist of Dawn: Well, it's time to give the people the Disclaimer.

Machina: Cool. The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his SI Ron (that's me) and the OCs Lovrina Carol (my lady!) and Eclipse (Dead and I love it that way).

Duelist of Dawn: Cool dude, let's start the chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 57<strong>

**Trials and Revelations: Quina's Battle**

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible - Cockpit)<p>

It would take us only an hour until we reached the Qu's Marsh at the Mist Continent. It feels weird to be saying that since the whole world's land is now a Mist Continent, island, ocean, etc. Anyway, during that hour I had a talk with Quina about what she was going to face...

"So, how tough is your Master?" I asked her, keeping my vision on the screen while I piloted the Invincible. "I mean, if you got some fighting prowess that would mean he would be more powerful than you."

"Very powerful," Quina nodded. "Master Quale become leader of Qu by becoming ultimate gourmand."

"That would make sense because of how you learn your skills," I mused. "It's how Blue Mages are; learning to fight in the ways of the monsters."

"Is true," She replied. "But Master Quale been leader of Qu for very long time. He also have help, like I did."

"You mean..."

"In order to pass test to become ultimate gourmand, I need help from friends to defeat Master Quale," Quina answered for me. "He too powerful for one person alone..."

"That could explain why he wanted us to take you into our group," I figured. "Do you know any of his combat skills or his fighting styles that would help us defeat him?"

Quina shook her head, "I never see him fight; only heard."

But then I got to thinking; he and Quina are Qus and they are all Blue Mages. So...

"We already know one way of fighting him, and that's through you," I stated to her. "Since you're both Blue Mages, ask yourself this: how do you approach your opponent?"

Quina gasped with acknowledgement, "Aha! I know what you mean! We all have same fighting style and may have same Blue Magic!"

"Exactly," I agreed. "But only knowing is half the battle since we can't guarantee he's _exactly_ like you in terms of fighting. You said so yourself he must have more experience fighting to get where he's at. Plus, you can be a little absent-minded when it comes to food and all..."

"Hey!" She shouted angrily.

"Just saying what's on my mind," I protested. "Don't attack me while I'm piloting this thing, otherwise we'll be dead before we reach your test."

"No joke like that," She warned me.

"Right, sorry," I smiled, assuring her. "I really didn't mean any ill will towards it."

"It okay," She calmed down.

* * *

><p>[3rd POV] [Invincible – Power Room]<p>

Dagger, Eiko, and Lovrina peered into the red energy pool that was located near the back of the airship. This where it all happened: the destruction of Madain Sari was its test target for destroying the source of the Eidolons and nearly the entire Summoner Clan while killing Eclipse in the process. Also, it had very well destroyed Alexandria and its previous queen. Both places were in ruins because of Kuja, Garland, and Eclipse's use of this war airship.

"I wonder what the moogles are up to ever since we left," Eiko wondered.

"They must have done everything they could to keep our home intact," Lovrina figured. "In fact, they must be doing just that. After all, we always warned them what would happen if we didn't..."

The youngest Summoner giggled, "Yeah, I would dress them up like girls for a full day while they do chores. Or you would use them as training partners whenever you needed to polish your skills."

"And it would be funny how they would think my punishment is a lot less worse than yours," the ninja/Summoner replied, holding back her laughter.

"I do wonder..." Dagger said, getting the sisters' attention. "Since I was originally from Madain Sari, do you think anything that belonged to my family was left behind?"

"Sorry, but I have no idea," Lovrina said. "I did manage to get some remains from our home, but I don't know who they belong to. It would also help out if we knew your real name to identify all of that."

"Oh right," Dagger sighed in disappointment. "The destruction may have destroyed it all when I escaped with my mother..."

"Hey, don't worry," Eiko assured her. "The things Lovrina found may have been it. Until then, you still have all of us as family."

"Thank you," Dagger smiled.

"Like she said, we're family," Lovrina said, repeating her sister's words. "Once we get back home, we'll sort everything out. Before that, we do our part in making sure we reach Kuja."

"I just hope we can reach the last of the animals while this Mist is around." Eiko said. "I wonder how bad it will be once we land..."

"Consider the Mistodons are part of the problem, it could be worse," the ninja/Summoner stated. "But we know how to deal with those easily... but the other Terran monsters are another story; each with different strengths and weakness we need to exploit."

* * *

><p>[Invincible – Interior]<p>

Zidane and Vivi were talking amongst themselves in the Airship's interior, while the others were taking a rest to adapt to the Invincible's resting room. They ended up talking about the Qu in question, Quale and most specifically, what happened at Vivi's old home when Quale, Vivi, and Quina were seeing things…

"So, your late grandfather, Quan, was a Qu," Zidane said.

"Yeah," Vivi stated. "And Mr. Quale and Quina looked like him... and I guess they all knew him one way or another."

"And this Quan guy was also the guy who trained Quale," the Genome questioned, to which Vivi nodded an affirmative to, "Do you recall how he fights?"

"Not really," the Black Mage admitted. "I guess he was powerful since all it took was one attack to kill his enemies so he'd have food for both of us."

"Yikes," Zidane exclaimed in shock. "If your grandpa was that tough, think of how powerful the student is!"

"I think we should be okay," Vivi assured him. "I mean, we seen how Quina was able to survive after being away from us a lot."

That comment got the ex-thief laughing a bit, "Oh yeah, she is totally resilient! I was lucky to have her on my team during the Earth Shrine... although, it was disgusting for her eating undead monsters..."

"Yuck," Vivi gagged. "It makes me think of the many monsters Grandpa could have killed and eaten that I didn't know about..."

"Yeah, let's keep our lunches inside," Zidane said, wanting to change the subject. "So, after we beat down Kuja and save the world; you plan on going back to the Black Mage Village to live there?"

"You know, I will," the Black Mage replied. "At first, I was thinking about staying with you guys, but we all can't be together every day and... I can be with my family."

"I hear ya," the Genome said. "Although, I can't really say the Genomes is my 'family', if you catch my drift..."

"Still, you could offer them help in living their lives," Vivi added. "But I think I know where you want to go after all of this is over..."

"Yeah," Zidane nodded. "I know I haven't said it out loud, and from what me and Ron did for Dagger and Lovrina when Alexandria was leveled..."

"You love her," Vivi answered for him.

Zidane laughed once more, "Had to get out of my 'skirt chasing' phase like Blank always said I should. And after all, after what happened when Dagger was about to become Queen... I wasn't being myself then. So, I have to give it another go and with the truth this time."

"Good," Vivi smiled. "It's not normal for you to be anything else but happy; ever since that time at Garland's castle."

"At least I was able to snap myself out of it," the Genome said. "No matter what; Gaia's my true home and I won't let anything harm it and the people I care about."

"And that's what we're going to do," the Black Mage nodded, giving his friend a thumbs up.

And little did he know that Dagger listened to the entire conversation between the Genome and the Black Mage from the bedroom quarters. She blushed and beamed at Zidane's feelings for her before returning to bed.

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible - Cockpit)<p>

Nearly the full hour had passed and I was able to find the Mist Continent through my Aura Sense. I was thinking about how would any of us approach Quale.

'_Seeing Quina in action, Qus have a lot of endurance and the girth to back it up,'_ I thought, while moving closer to the Qu's Marsh,_ 'I know the frontal assault is just asking to be rammed unless I get in and out. But then again, it only matters on who Quina's going to pick to support her in battle and I may not be battling. This is her thing and mine was done since Eclipse was burned to ashes. But everyone's problems are not done...' _I just kept telling myself that as this was just one part in getting to our real destination. _'It's not like everything is going to be easy anyway...'_

"Hey Ron," I heard Lani come into the cockpit, greeting me, "We there yet?"

"Almost," I replied. "We're on the right continent; I just need to get near the marshlands and land this thing."

"Good," the bounty huntress said. "Sooner we get this errand done, we can finish off the others and knock off Kuja."

"I heard that," I nodded. "You really think you and Amarant will make a living for killing all these new monsters?"

"Of course," she scoffed. "You know by now we're the best bounty hunters there ever lived!"

"After Lovrina and I knocked off your competition, right," I added, looking back to her for a second before returning my vision towards the front.

"Oh yeah," Lani said, waking up to me and patting me on the back. "Thanks, means more money for us."

"I don't get a cut," I asked, sounding sad. "As long as I'm here, I'll need some gil..."

"You feel like joining the ranks?" She smirked. "After what we've been through, Amarant and I could use a guy like you."

"Yet, I don't like splitting up the money more ways than usual," We then heard Amarant come in greeting us in his usual manner. "All you would get out of us in your regular three meals a day; want anything else, get another job."

"Are you still sore at me for winning our bet back at the Fire Shrine?" I asked. "I told you Zidane and I could wait to see our ladies."

"Whatever," Amarant scoffed. "Just impatient to get everything we need to get finished with Kuja."

"I hear ya," I replied. "But, it's the only lead I got is doing all these things on the side; we're going to have to suck it up and finish them up."

"And why are we not splitting up now?" Lani asked. "No offense to Quina's test and all, she could just pick some of us while you take the others to the spots needed."

"It's her choice," I stated. "And I have thought on that; which is why the Summoners are going to bring out their Eidolons to move around the world and I'll still pick them up if and when we're exhausted from the split."

"Good plan," Amarant nodded.

"And just in time," I added, motioning my head towards the front window. We all saw the Mist Continent's marshlands once I got low enough for them to see even through the Mist. "Time for a landing and bring Quina out for who she's bringing to fight with her."

"I got her," Lani said as she left the cockpit. "See you in a few seconds..."

"And what do you plan to do if you don't get chosen to help Quina?" Amarant asked me.

"I'll go search for the other animals to unlock the seal to Ozma," I replied. "That's the main reason we're in this mess, but a little soul searching always helped a person find themselves in a critical moment. I mean, even though I have no place to call home here, I can still do it by sitting down and looking back. Isn't that what you were doing back in the Fire Shrine before we fought Marilith?"

Thinking back on his words, the bounty hunter nodded, "So you read into that..."

"I know you outside this world, remember?" I added. "Experiencing it up close and personal just makes it come together."

"Yeah, you from another world," He nodded. "You know about everyone except a few people..."

"Not everything about everyone," I corrected him, "Just throughout the events of the original story. It is slightly changed due to my appearance."

"Yeah, seeing myself actually teaming up with someone like Lani is a surprising change," Amarant said, laughing a bit.

"Hey, what's so bad about me?" It was then Lani chose the time to show herself with Quina following after. "You know that ever since we teamed up, money's been coming in like that!" She stated with a snap of her fingers.

"And now look where we're at," Amarant added. "We're stuck fighting off some maniac who can't take dying when he's become all-powerful. But coming back to you; we're in this mess because you had a crush."

"Well, if it wasn't for looking for my crush, we wouldn't have gotten to Zidane," Lani pointed out. "In a way, sidetracking got you to your greatest goal. Too bad, he beat you..."

"Alright, alright," I stepped in. "If we're done with the partner bickering, we should get down to how Quina's going to approach her master for the fight." I looked to Quina. "Any idea of who's going to fight with you?"

"I ask Vivi, Zidane, and Freya to help," the Qu replied. "Together we defeat Master Quale!"

"Then, it's settled," I nodded. "Go get them up to speed and we'll see you later."

"Okay," Quina nodded as she ran to the back to get her chosen allies.

"Looks like we'll be splitting up here," I stated. "I know Dagger, Lovrina, and Eiko will want to go check out Madain Sari to check up on things..."

"Hang on," Lani interrupted. "Remember how you said that Callisto took my place in going after you guys for Brahne?" I nodded. "Well, I'm going with the girls to see if Callisto ended up there."

"Any particular reason," Amarant asked.

"Wanna see how I would have ended up if I decided to go after Brahne's money and greed," the bounty huntress replied sincerely. "In a way, Callisto's another me, another life."

"I understand that," I nodded. "A little soul searching... And then Amarant, Steiner, Choco, and I will be looking for the missing animals."

"Looks like we all got our plans," Amarant stated. "Time we get to it..."

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Invincible – Interior)<p>

Aside from Ron, Amarant, Steiner, and Choco, everyone else gathered around the teleportation pod in the center of the ship. Before we left, Quina had recalled about how she zapped herself inside during the escape from Terra, so the opposite might be possible as well. Everyone stood around waiting for Quina's explanation...

"Are you sure this will work Quina?" Zidane asked.

"Is no problem!" Quina assured them. "I warp in from outside before."

"With the side door inaccessible because there is not an airship dock, I guess this is the only exit, anyway..." Lovrina noted.

"We might as well go with what Quina says and hope for the best," Eiko added.

"The same magic field outside when we come back," the Qu continued. "I warp in when I step into magic field outside.

Lani shrugged it off, "Alright... I guess it's no use worrying. If Quina got in okay, then we'll be okay."

"And once we get outside, Lovrina, Eiko, Lani and I will fly on Bahamut to Madain Sari," Dagger stated.

"And when we're done with what we are doing, we can signal Ron and the Invincible with our spells," Vivi added.

"Then, we can move on to finding out what else is there to do," Freya figured.

"Alright, let's go out there and get our things done..." Zidane said as he took a step forward into the middle of a circular pad, marked with the same triangular symbol the group saw in Mt. Gulug and Oeilvert. As soon as the Genome's feet settled, bright rings swam up from the outer most ring and passed through his body, and then sank back into the middle of the symbol to complete the transport.

* * *

><p>(Mist Continent – Marshlands)<p>

The Invincible floated passively above the marshlands nearest the Qu's territory. Second later, it emitted a white light from the hull and created the universal Terran symbol on the ground. And then, particles shot down from the light and onto the symbol, letting Zidane land perfectly on Gaia.

"Sweet," the Genome smiled, stepping out of the symbol's light and took a look at his surroundings. "Quina was right. And thanks to Ron, we're right by the Qu's Marsh so we don't have to worry about the Mist blinding us."

Later, one by one, Quina, Lovrina, Dagger, Eiko, Freya, Lani and Vivi teleported down from the Terran airship and stepped out of the symbol.

"Looks like we're here," Freya said, looking around to find the Qu's Marsh.

"Lucky we don't have to travel much to find the place," Eiko added. "The Mist is really thick."

_[Alright, guys,]_ Ron called down from the Invincible's intercom, _[We're going to head off in search of the remaining animals... we'll meet up after our tasks are done...]_

"Got it!" Zidane shouted as the symbol's light faded away and the airship started to fly away in the direction of the Forgotten Continent.

"Well, we can look for one of the animals after we help Quina fight Quale," Dagger said as she turned to Freya, "You said that a Garuda in the plains on top of Gizamaluke's Grotto is one of them right?"

"Yeah," the Burmecian Knight nodded.

"Then, the girls and I can go there before we head over to Madain Sari," Dagger replied, turning to the rest of her party.

"Sounds like a plan," Lani agreed.

"Alright, head on over there," Zidane said. "Just watch yourselves up there..."

"Don't worry, we will," Eiko smiled.

"Now we need some transportation," Lovrina added.

"Taken care of..." Dagger smiled as she raised her wand and started her chant...

"_Conqueror of the skies, inhabit this land to rule them once more! Rise King of Dragons, Bahamut!"_

From the wand, the red beam was launched to create the fiery portal beyond the Mist. Soon, the King of Dragons descended on the marshlands, his wings blowing away the nearby Mist to give everyone a clear layout of the land.

"Hey, that worked out nicely," Zidane pointed out, looking around the clear grounds. "And we have no monsters running around right now... that's even better."

"With Bahamut preparing to make a landing, you can spread out the Mist and see what's around." Freya noted. "Clever if we do run into the Mist Monsters."

"Yup," Eiko smiled. "Now, I really think we need to head on over to the mountains and give that Garuda his gem and then head on over to Madain Sari."

"Right," Lovrina nodded as she held her sister in her arms and jumped on top of Bahamut's back. Soon, Lani hopped up after them after using the dragon's tail as her stepping stone. "Best of luck on your test, Quina..."

"Thanks," the Qu replied.

"See you guys later," Dagger said before turning back to her Eidolon. "Bahamut, fly us up to the mountains." The dragon acknowledged his mistress' command and then stretched out his wings before flapping them, blowing away more Mist and taking to the skies. Bahamut turned towards the direction of Gizamaluke's Grotto and flew the three Summoners and bounty huntress there.

"Alright," Zidane announced, grabbing the attention of his team. "Let's get in there and help out Quina."

Quina, Vivi, and Freya nodded as they followed the Genome into the Qu's Marsh...

* * *

><p>(Qu's Marsh) (Play Qu's Marsh theme from Final Fantasy 9)<p>

The Mist was as thick as ever, and adding on to the tall stalks of grass, this would be difficult... but they have someone who can easily find their way despite all of these obstacles.

"Let's go," Quina stated. "Master Quale this way!"

She then ran into an opened part of the marsh grass and started walking through, with the other three following her. It wasn't that hard for these four who've been here before to reach the open area of the frog pond. And there, standing on the bridge, was Quina's Master, Quale.

"Master Quale!" the female Qu called out to the Qu leader, who turned in the direction.

"Ah, Quina," Quale said. "I expect you to come."

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

"Now the time..." He stated. "Quina, you on your own from now on. You train to become ultimate gourmand alone."

"Master Quale..." Quina said.

"I apologize from before," the Master Qu continued. "I tell you eat other foods to become great gourmand. But you learn true art of eating on your own... I not your Master no longer."

"You still teach me many things beyond frogs, Master Quale." Quina assured him. "Without you, I no eat anything other than frogs."

"It's true," Zidane pointed out. "You're the one who asked us to take her... Plus, she could have inadvertently learned past that because of traveling along with us."

"And she's been a big help outside of finding good food for us," Freya added. "She helped us save many lives during our time together."

"Thanks to her, I was able to see my grandpa one last time," Vivi exclaimed. Hearing that, caused Quale to flinch.

"About that..." He struggled to say, looking down at the wet ground. "I sorry about... lying to you about Quan..."

"You did have you reasons," the black mage replied. "You just misunderstood what he said from what Quina said to me. You got angry that's all..."

"I see..." Quale sighed. "Still, I apologize..."

"You're forgiven..." Vivi nodded.

"Cool, everyone's made up and Quina's graduated from your training," Zidane pointed out.

"Not yet," Quale interrupted.

"Remember," Freya whispered to the Genome. "Quina has to fight her Master; the reason we came here in the first place..."

"Right, right..." Zidane whispered back.

"Before you go, you face final test!" Quale shouted as he leapt from the bridge and on the other side of the pond. He then held up his own fork weapon in his right hand. It was just as giant and silver as most forks were, but had its three prongs laced out with smaller prongs on each of it, "Quina, you and your friends must do battle with me! They help you grow, they help you fight!"

Quina nodded, and in her rare moments, getting serious as she held up her fork weapon. "I will win!" She then turned to her companions. "We will win!"

"Let's show him what were made of," Zidane said, getting into his stance with his daggers.

"The four of us against him should be more than a match," Freya smirked, twirling her lance.

"And Quina's going to be a big help," Vivi added, raising his staff in the air.

(End Music; Play Spike's Arena from Spyro: Year of the Dragon)

"Numbers mean nothing against me," Quale declared, looking deadly serious while charging up his magic. "Aqua Breath!" He quickly inhaled the air and then breathed out a monstrous amount of water at the quartet. Everyone gasped as they found it was a tidal wave compared to Quina's Aqua Breath and it was coming in close...

"Mighty Guard!" Quina shouted, charging up her Blue Magic to surround her team and herself with yellow and blue armor of light. The water splashed upon them, disorienting them a bit but able to stand their ground due to Quina's Spell's effects. Zidane quickly shook off the breath's effects and charged in with his daggers. He hacked and slashed with intent to move Quale into a position where he could score a real strike to the body. But every strike was met with the Master Qu's fork blocking each of them as they came at him.

'_This guy's good,'_ the Genome thought as he kept his attack up. He then saw at the corner of his eye, Vivi conjuring up his Black Magic for a spell. _'Get ready...'_

"Fira!" the Black Mage chanted as he quickly flung his staff at the enemy Qu. Zidane quickly backed away, just in time for Quale to be surrounded by a fiery tornado and stopping the Qu in his tracks.

"Good," Freya shouted as she made a big jump into the air and then pointed her lance downward to dive down. On impact, the flaming tornado was extinguished and Quale was knocked down by the Burmecian's lance and the fork was flung near Quina. "Now, Quina!"

"Goblin Punch!" the female Qu shouted as her unarmed left hand glowed white while she jumped towards her master.

"Ha!" the male Qu shouted as he stood up and then suddenly curled himself up into a ball and with absolutely no charging time, smashed into his former student and into the water.

"Ow!" Quina moaned.

But the rolling didn't stop as Quale set his sights on Zidane who abandoned charging on the attack and dove away from the rolling attack. Once that target had moved, Quale moved on to Vivi who could only jump far enough and ended up running along the rolling Qu like he was in a circus act.

"Whoa!" the Black Mage shouted as he tried to keep his balance.

"Vivi, hang on!" Freya yelled out as she rushed towards the rolling Qu. "Lancer!" She surrounded her lance with dragon spirits, hoping she could strike the Qu and then jump to save Vivi from being crushed. "Take this!" She shouted as she struck her lance across the rolling Quale, causing enough force to make him bounce and the Black Mage to freefall from the sky.

"Vivi, cast your spell!" Zidane shouted, seeing an opportunity and then turned to Quina. "You too, Quina!"

"Mustard Bomb!" the Qu started, spitting out the burning, orange bomb from her mouth and struck the Master Qu, knocking him out of his ball state. "Vivi!"

"Thundara!" the Black Mage shouted as he had time to cast his mid-level thunder magic and fired numerous thunderbolts from the sky, shocking the Master Qu in mid-air and making him scream before he plummeted to the ground.

"Ack!" Quale shouted when he hit the ground, and surprisingly shot to his feet. "Not feel pleasant... Watch where you hit me!"

"Uh... Sorry?" Vivi said, scratching his head. "We are in a fight; we're supposed to hit you..."

"Yeah, don't get weak on us old man..." Zidane scoffed. But that's when the Master Qu's smirk showed.

"You say so," He shouted as he as he conjured up some magic. "Water!" Quale raised his hands up high and created another huge ring of water around his attackers, about to envelop them all in a pressure crushing attack.

"Move," Quina shouted as everyone jumped out of the ring before it could rise up and crush them.

"Quick, but I quicker!" Quale shouted as he suddenly dashed across the lake!

"Whoa!" Zidane shouted as he was suddenly on the defense, trying to block the Master Qu's fork strikes. Luckily for the Genome, he was able to keep up and the shock of being overcome was slowly deteriorating. "Man, you move well for a big guy!"

"Thank you, but I not fat," the Master Qu said before, landing a punch to the Genome's stomach and threw him into the pond, "I big-boned!" He then turned to Quina, Vivi, and Freya and gave them a challenging hand wave, "Who next?"

"Vivi, cast a spell to get his attention," the Burmecian whispered to the Black Mage. "Afterwards, Quina and I can go in and launch a frontal assault."

"Okay," Vivi whispered back while Quina nodded.

"No stop fighting," Quale taunted.

"Thundara!" Vivi shouted as he cast his thunder spell once again, making the Master Qu bug out.

"Oh no!" Quale shouted as he started to jump, roll, and surprisingly back-flip in order to dodge the many thunderbolts that came at him.

"Now's your chance," Vivi shouted to his friends, keeping up the spell. "Once you get close, I'll stop the spell so you can strike."

"Okay," the girls shouted as they started to rush towards the Qu dodging the storm. Seeing Freya and Quina get close enough, Vivi stopped his spell.

"Blue Defless!" Quina shouted as she created numerous blue orbs in her hands before shooting them at Quale, surrounding him to drain his defenses which the Master Gourmand had noticed, especially when he saw the Burmecian Knight strike.

"Lancer," Freya rushed towards the Master Gourmand, surrounding her lance with dragon spirits. Once close enough, she slashed at Quale...

*CLANK!*

...Only to have her lance caught by his fork and pushed Quina into the grass!

"Caught you!" the male Qu laughed before raising his unarmed left hand, sparkling with magic. "Blind!" He thrust his hand towards Freya's face, pushing her back in the process. The Burmecian Knight gritted her teeth, knowing she just lost her sight.

"Freya," Zidane shouted, seeing his friend kneel down to avoid moving much. The Genome pulled out a vial of Eye Drops while Quina began her assault and started to keep her former Master at bay with a combination of fork strikes and Goblin Punches. "Hang on!"

"No hang on!" Quale shouted, knocking Quina's weapon arm down a bit before gripping her head and sparkled with magic. "Confuse!" The female Qu gasped as she felt an odd sensation disrupting something in her head. She didn't noticed that Quale forcefully pushing her into her friends' side and used her as the bowling ball to knock over her bowling pin friends, causing Zidane to drop and smash the vial of eye drops.

"Damn, he's quick for a big guy!" Zidane grumbled, repeating his earlier statement.

"Years practice," the Master Qu smirked, charging up magic. "Blind!" Now he expelled a black smoke from his hand that covered all four of his opponents. From the chorus of gasps, he knew everyone else had their sight.

"He blinded us all," Zidane noticed as from the size of the spell before losing his ability to see. "Crap, I don't know where he is!"

"Quina, we need your Spells," Vivi shouted as he went to cast one of his own spells.

"Slience!" Quale quickly caught on and launched another spell at the two mages. It created a purple seal with the kanji for silence underneath them, coating them in the same light. "You no cast magic now!"

"No, he's been scouting us out," Freya figured. "He blinded us to stop us from attacking him, and now Vivi and Quina cannot cast their spells."

"What are we going to do since we can't see?" Zidane grumbled. "We probably can't reach for the medicines without him knocking it out of our hands before we..."

"Ya!" They heard Quale shout out and soon, everyone felt themselves being struck, smacked, and tossed around by the Master Gourmand, forced to endure the pain given.

'_What are we going to do,'_ Vivi thought, feeling the hits continuing. _'We can't see, we can't talk to cast spells... how are we supposed to fight?'_

'_Master Quale strong,'_ Quina thought as she endured any attack that came her way, _'Rumors true... Must find way to fight while no can use magic and no can see...'_ She then sighed. _'If only could know where Master is...'_

Suddenly, she gasped as she thought of something...

* * *

><p>(Flashback)<p>

She remembered how she suddenly imagined the buffet in the dusty caverns that was once Vivi's home...

_In Quina's eyes, the dusty room was clean and filled with delicious food that anyone could ever imagine! Steaks, ham, barrels of flavored juices... Hell, the sky's the limit! Quina felt like she was living in a fantasy world seeing all sorts of good food right in front of her._

_"I-Is unbelievable..." She whispered, eyes leaking tears of joy. "I not know where to start! What I eat first? Hohoho!" She then could hold back, and started to go at the food and even using her combat fork for such an occasion. "'Ng-ng-ng...' I-Is sooo good! Hohoho! 'Ng-ng-ng...' Is delicious! Delicious..."_

She remembered seeing the ghost of Quan, Quale's former master, telling about what she saw...

_"I finally here..." The new Qu stated, look out at the lake in front of him._

_"Wh-Who you!" Quina asked. "You the one who show me illusion!"_

_The Qu turned around and shook his head. "I Quan... Is illusion only if you see illusion..." He stated. "You saw because you travel around world."_

_"Wh-What you mean!" Quina asked again._

_"Is cheap trick!" Quale shouted, obviously mad._

_Quina turned to her master. "Master! What you talk about!"_

_The enrage Qu pointed his finger at the new Qu. "He my former master! He run away and escape training!"_

_"I no run from training..." Quan stated. "It you who make mistake."_

_Quale gasped. "What!"_

_"To eat everything not true way of gourmand!" Quan stated. "Your student already start to realize!" He then turned to the female Qu. "Quina, what you saw you used imagination... Is your imagination you used to eat."_

_"I-I not know..." She shrugged. "But it taste like real food!"_

_"Is all good..." Quan said. "You travel around the world and gain imagination. People who no have imagination no taste until they actually eat!"_

_"Mmm!" Quale wondered._

_"You use imagination, is possible to taste all food in world!" Quan stated. "It no matter if it story somebody else tell. Is possible to eat with your imagination!"_

(End Flashback)

* * *

><p>'<em>That it!'<em> Quina thought. _'I can imagine where Master Quale is by smell! I smell food with imagination, I can smell where Master is!'_

As she was blind, Quina sat up and closed her eyes. The female Qu started to breathing through her nose; inhaling through it and then exhaling from her mouth. From her breathing, she smelled everything around her. The frogs in the pond, the grass around it, and the distinguishable scents of her friends... and her enemies. She could catch the scent of her master with her nose and taste the change in the air with her tongue. Once she felt that change, she was able to lean back to dodge Quale's strike, surprising him and launching a kick into his gut to send him flying.

"What?" Quale gasped loudly.

"Hey, what's going on?" Zidane asked, sitting up from the pond and looked around. "Did somebody get him?"

"It sounds like it," Freya replied, getting to one knee and trying to listen. "Quale was hit, but by who?"

Vivi listened to the whole thing and came up with one conclusion, _'It's gotta be Quina! If Zidane and Freya were both out of it, then she must be able to see somehow.'_

Quale landed safely on the ground, making the ground shake and the pond water jump a bit. "Quina, you no can see! How you hit me?" He saw Quina's mouth move, but remembered something, _'Oh right, I silenced her... but she won't be able to stop this...'_ He then started to curl up in a ball once more and then roll towards his former pupil. "You no can stop this!"

Once again, Quina sensed her opponent moving in and heard the sound of what she thought was a rock rolling towards her. But then she remembered what happened with Vivi and jumped to the right side to evade the attack.

Quale gasped, _'How she dodge?'_ It was frustrating the Master Qu as he turned around and prepared to roll over Quina once more, but quickly was evaded once more. _'This impossible!' _He cried as he continued his assault again and again.

Freya listened on to what was happening, and found that no impact was made for a while. She was relieved, yet stayed alert in case Quale or something else tried to attack her while she was still blind.

"Psst... Freya," the Burmecian's ears perked up and heard a whisper from her right and turned in the direction where it came from. "It's me, Zidane..."

"What is it...," Freya asked, keeping a whisper as well.

"Hold still," Zidane's reply was as the Burmecian felt her head tilt back by a hand, but before she could protest she felt something spray into her eyes. Once the spraying stopped, she was able to notice that her vision had been restored once more and the first thing she saw was Zidane.

"Zidane," She smiled, glad that her friends was able to help. But then noticed something, "But how did you...?"

"While Quale was somehow distracted, I was able to feel around for the eye drops he made me drop and then take some to clear my eyes." The Genome explained. "Get some Echo Screen to Vivi and he can help us take down Quale with Quina."

"Actually," Freya smirked, and pointed out the female Qu dodging Quale's rolling attacks with ease. "I think she can handle herself, but I'll go tend to Vivi."

Zidane looked towards the battling Qu's and saw that Freya was correct, although Quina was not getting any hits in, Quale could have been tiring himself trying to use the same tactic. But now Quina was having enough of dodging and went on the attack when Quale came in for another strike. This time she didn't completely dodge the next as she sidestepped to the left and then rammed the rolling Qu from the side, pushing him away and towards the Genome. He notices that the ground was dragging against Quale's rolling body, causing the rolling to slow.

"Here's my chance," Zidane shouted as he pulled out a small compartment from his pocket and flicked it in front of incoming Qu. "Thievery!" Suddenly, the compartment opened up into a small, treasure chest-like item. Once Quale got close enough...

*BOOM!*

An explosion kicked in and knocked Quale into the air once more. Freya saw this after curing Vivi of his ailments and then took to the skies with her long jump. "Cherry Blossom!" She shouted, spinning her lance like a powered fan and spread many cherry blossom petals across the sky, pelting Quale and caused him to uncurl.

"Thundara!" Vivi once again launched his thunder spell, nailing the airborne Qu with thunderbolts. And finally, Quina, who was still uncured of her ailments, took a leap when she smelled Quale coming in low and belly bumped him into the water.

(End music)

"Alright, she got him!" Vivi cheered. "But how did she do that?"

"Let's get her the echo screen and find out," Zidane said, holding up the medicine in question, along with the eye drops and ran over to the female Qu.

Quina dropped all hostility when she sensed the change in the air and the smell from the Genome and promptly turned around.

"Quina, it's..."

"I know you Zidane," She interrupted. "I smell you coming."

"Oh, you can talk now?" Zidane gasped.

"Silence wear off after defeating Master Quale," Quina stated. "Still no can see..."

"Oh well... hold still," Zidane replied, stumped that he didn't receive any problem from the Qu and spray her eyes with the eye drops. Once she could see, she immediately sighed.

"Ah, can see again!" She rejoiced.

"So, how did you beat him?" Freya asked, now seeing Quale getting up from his pain-induced slumber in the pond. "You couldn't see or use your magic."

"I use sense of smell and taste to find Master," Quina replied. "Smell and taste scent and change in air to fight."

"Damn, that's good," Zidane figured. "And since you were blocked off from sight, the other senses had to get stronger."

"Impressive," Freya smiled. "I should have noticed that..."

"Yeah, I couldn't make a good move without wanting Quale to hit me," Vivi added.

"Oh..." Everyone turned to see Quale walking out of the pond, groaning as he came over to Quina. "You fight good, Quina... real good."

"Thank you, Master," Quina bowed.

"I not Master anymore, to you," Quale stated with a smile. "You defeat former Master in combat," He turned to the rest of the crew. "All help Quina become strong Qu... No realize that Quina used other senses to win."

"Well, happy to help," Zidane grinned.

"Before you leave," Quale continued, and then walked towards the tall grass and pulled out a long, black box. "You earn this," He opened up the box and it revealed a strange combat fork inside. It was three feet long, had a dominantly black color with the mid-section red and the sharp, trident-like prongs each having yellow color to it. "It legendary fork, Gastro Fork. It crush any enemy... take it and become proud gourmand."

At a loss for words, Quina accepted the fork and took it into her hands. Quale bowed to her and then took his leave. "Never forget own teachings I fail with former Master Quan."

Zidane patted Quina on the back, "Not bad for a hard battle for yourself, eh?"

"And just in time to help fight Kuja at your best," Freya nodded.

"So, let's go find a place to send a signal to Ron and pick us up when he's ready." Vivi stated.

"Right," Quina nodded as the quartet ran through the marsh, more than ready to do their part in the final battle...

* * *

><p>Alright, done deal with this chapter. Also, do not mention things about my other story, Duel Academy Stories, on your reviews. Only talk about Melodies of Life Chronicles, please.<p>

* * *

><p>Next time: The Summoner Girls head up to the mountains first to find the friendly Garuda (Scene of Dagger, Eiko, Lani, and Lovrina talking to a multicolored Garuda)<p>

Next, they return to Madain Sari to see how the Mist changed the place. (Scene of the moogles evading Mist Monsters)

But I think Dagger will find out something more when she goes to the Eidolon Wall. (Scene of Dagger looking at the Eidolon Wall)

Next Chapter: Trials and Revelations 2: Dagger's Origins

Please Read and Review! Later!


	3. CH 58: Trials and Revelations: Dagger

Duelist of Dawn: What's up? I'm back! It's time we got back to finishing this story once and for all! I know that it's been tiring that I don't work on this as much, and that's what caused the decline in reviews. But I would appreciate if anyone can get their friends to come talk about this and we can get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

Duelist of Dawn: Let's start the chapter and make our rebirth!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 58<strong>

**Trials and Revelations: Dagger's Origins**

* * *

><p>In the skies, above the world of a Mist-filled Gaia, Bahamut flew up to the mountaintop above Gizamaluke's Grotto with Dagger, Lovrina, Eiko, and Lani in tow. It was a giant plateau filled with healthy trees and narrow lands, since it was above the Mist that decayed the land below. Due to it being closer towards Qu's Marsh, it was easier to fly and make a landing on top. Lovrina was the first to jump off and landed on the tallest tree to search out for any monsters that fit the description of a friendly, multicolored Garuda. The Eidolon Dragon landed nearby and let the other three girls off.<p>

"Dismiss!" Dagger commanded as Bahamut vanished into the other realm. She then took a good look around and saw the vast land around her. "Wow..."

"I'll say..." Eiko added, looking over the cliff. "If we're not careful, Lani could fall..."

"What did you say," the bounty huntress growled.

"You are the one who cannot summon anything to keep you from falling, especially since you got that big axe that could make you lose balance," the youngest Summoner took note. "Without me, Dagger, or Lovrina... you're as good as dead."

"Okay, but I'm a lot more careful," Lani stated as she walked along the ledge. "And I can keep balance just fine... it's not like I walk around with a hunchback."

"And we will help her if she ends up falling somewhere," Dagger noted, "Right, Eiko?"

"Of course," Eiko replied, "I'm just saying that..."

"...Since she's not a Summoner, she can't save herself with an Eidolon?" Dagger finished. "I would say she's stronger than the both of us since we rely mostly on the Eidolons while she has her own strength and knows some Black Magic. We're White Mages with only supportive magic, even though you have the one attack White Magic which is Holy, we're better off in the sidelines."

"Oh alright," the little Summoner sighed, "Just trying to says something..."

"Hey girls," Lovrina called out from atop the trees, "I found the Garuda!"

"Really, where," Lani asked.

"It's just straight ahead," the ninja/summoner replied as she jumped down from the trees, "I'll lead you to the nesting ground... it's just along this forest..."

"WARK! WARRKK!" A loud and deep sounding voice shouted out in alarm, causing the girls to cover their ears.

"Okay..." Lani groaned, "What was that?"

"And why was it that loud," Dagger said, rubbing her ears. However, Eiko and Lovrina gasped. "What's the matter?"

"Whatever that was, it's screaming for help," Eiko exclaimed in worry.

"And it belongs to the Garuda we were chasing," Lovrina added as she jumped back up to the trees. "And it's being chased by a Grand Dragon!"

"_RRRAAGGGHH!"_

"Oh no, I remember that roar..." Dagger gasped, "It's the same as the one we fought at Daguerreo! Luckily, I know just how to subdue it... Shiva..."

"Then we better help the little thing..." Lani stated. "And have your Eidolon smack it down!"

"Right, follow me," Lovrina said as she performed a few hand signs, "Clone Jutsu." In a flicker of the wind, two copies of Lovrina appeared by both her side. "Make sure that dragon doesn't kill the Garuda!" The clones nodded and raced over there. Lovrina then jumped down with the rest of the girls. "Let's go!"

"Right..." the other three replied as they chased after the ninja.

* * *

><p>Further along the forest, the multicolored Garuda in question was fleeing for its life screaming and frantically flying around in fear. The Grand Dragon was hot on its heels as it didn't have to fly to keep up with it, snapping its jaws every time the smaller bird was close.<p>

"WARK! WARRKK!" The Garuda let out as it kept dodging the mouth of its predator by quickly zigzagging, but still couldn't shake the dragon of its trail. It knew if it flew any higher, the Grand Dragon would certainly catch it after takeoff. Still, it knew it would get tired at any moment and then it would be all over. It was calling for help for any nearby Garudas to come and ambush, but none was able to hear it. But soon, its prayers were answered...

Several shuriken flew through the air and stabbed the dragon's nose, right when it was about to catch the Garuda. It flinched and reared its head back in pain, roaring to the sky. The Garuda saw its chance and flew out of there, sensing a battle approaching. When the Grand Dragon shook off the pain, it looked back to towards the front to search for the Garuda it planned to eat, but found it missing. However, it found the things responsible for the weapons striking him... two identical women jumping across the tree tops, preparing more shuriken to throw. Finding them to be a substitute for the Garuda in the meantime it charged straight for them.

The Clones threw their shuriken, sending them spiraling towards the Grand Dragon. However, the dragon was ready for it. It used its wings for cover and then swatted the shuriken away once they came close enough and kept up its charge. The Clones gasped as they saw their attack knocked away but quickly kept up their speed. But once close enough, the Grand Dragon inhaled a giant breath and then let loose a poisonous, bubbling smoke into the bodies of both clones.

However, the clones had one more trick up their sleeve... instead of poofing away into smoke they exploded next to the smoke and caused it to spread into the mouth of the dragon. The Grand Dragon reeled back its head and even knocked it against a mountain as it was severely damaged now.

The four girls finally reached the Grand Dragon and seeing it in its vulnerable state, it was time to capitalize.

"Dagger, now," Eiko shouted.

The Summoner in question nodded as she started to focus her thoughts with her staff...

"_Queen of ice, avert the enemy with your grace! Come forward, Shiva!"_

A chill in the air came as the blue portal appeared, emitting snow flurries and released the female Eidolon of ice into the world of Gaia in front of everyone.

"Shiva, attack with your Diamond Dust!" Dagger commanded.

With a glare at the dragon while it was trying to regain itself, Shiva raised a hand towards the sky, causing the temperature in the area to drop suddenly. She spun gracefully and delicately on the balls of her feet, making a small wave of ice to freeze the Grand Dragon's feet. She then threw her arms forwards after a double rotation, causing ice to form around the body, leaving the damaged head free. Shiva then took a breath and focused her magic in the palms of her hands, throwing forth her arms and completely engulfing the Grand Dragon in ice. The 'Ice Queen' smiled at the 'sculpture' she made and then raised her hand. With a click of her fingers, the ice exploded, tearing the dragon to shreds and sending down the pieces into the Mist-covered grounds.

"And that's that," Lani smirked, looking down the mountain slope. "Glad we didn't get into that messy of a fight," She turned to Lovrina and Dagger, "From what I've heard, the one you guys, Ron, and Zidane fought back at that giant library gave you guys a hard time."

"It's best to learn from previous fights in order to get better," Lovrina stated, "The dragon Dagger and I fought one with Ron and Zidane, it actually took the four of us, Gilgamesh, and Ifrit to fight with but it didn't budge much and kept fighting. The reason we were successful because of Leviathan being in tune with Daguerreo."

"I thought with that place being the former gateway to the Feymarch, all Eidolons would have power," Eiko wondered. "But what about now? Even with experience, it could have taken more time to kill the one you two just dealt with."

"Thanks to my clones," the ninja/summoner smirked. "I set them to detonate once they were in range of the dragon. Luckily for me, they exploded against his head which dealt a lot of damage to its senses. Without them, it couldn't prepare for Shiva..."

"And since Shiva's ice is strong against dragons, it was no problem," Dagger continued. "Plus, I mentally commanded her to use more ice than I intended. When I summoned her back in Mount Gulug, I had trouble concentrating back then so I had her hurry up."

"Yeah, I noticed," Lovrina said, as Shiva descended and kneeled down, "I sensed Shiva was a lot more powerful than your last attempt."

Lani started shivering due to the Eidolon's cold temperature, covering herself as best she could, "Alright, can we turn down the cold? As much as I respect your Eidolons, I hate the sudden change in temperature."

Dagger giggled, as she raised her rod towards Shiva, "Dismiss!" With that, Shiva disappeared back into her realm and restored the normal temperature.

The bounty huntress sighed in relief, reveling in the returning heat, "Now that's better..."

"And now we need to find that hyperactive Garuda," Eiko said, looking around. "But I bet we wouldn't be able to, since that stupid dragon was trying to eat it and probably flew away to another mountain." She then scoffed, "Just our luck!"

Lovrina looked around and then smiled when she turned herself in the same direction, "Actually, we don't have to wait long."

"Huh?" The other three girls asked. Lovrina pointed up at a nearby tree. Once the rest of them followed, they saw what she saw... the Garuda they were looking for, looking down at them with an, what they thought, and amazed look on its face.

"I guess it found us," Lani figured.

"Or maybe it never left," Dagger noted. "Probably went up there the whole time."

"Any way you think about it, it's here," Eiko said.

"WARK!" The Garuda called out to them, loud as usual.

"But I guess it can tone it down," Lani stated, rubbing her ears.

"It's saying 'thank you'," Eiko replied.

Lovrina walked a little closer, cautious in her step to not frighten the multicolored bird. "We mean you no harm, Garuda. We actually come here for your help."

"Wark?" Garuda asked, tilting its head to the side.

"Do you know another animal such as yourself," She asked, "A light blue Feather Circle?"

Soon, the multicolored bird zoomed down from its safe zone and flew right in front of the four girls. "Feather Circle! Feather Circle!" It shouted happily. The girls were shocked to hear the bird speak other words than its call, "Lapis Lazuli!"

"It must mean the gem," Dagger said as she searched her belongings and then finally pulled out the dark blue colored gem. "Excuse me, Garuda?" The bird turned to her. "Is this the gem you need?" The Garuda gasped as it flew right to Dagger. It looked at her, and then the gem, and then back at her. "It's okay; it's yours if you want it. The Feather Circle told us to give it to you." She urged. "We are friends of the Feather Circle; your friend."

"Wark!" The Garuda nodded. It then took the gem from her by picking it up in its beak. Once inside, the gem started glowing, "Wark!"

"What's going on?" Dagger said, cautiously backing up from the bird.

"It looks like it's going to heal him," Eiko said indifferently, "I mean, that's what all the other gems did except for helping us enhance our Eidolons' power."

The Garuda then went wide eyed when the glow from the gem started transferring into itself, causing it to shake erratically.

"Uh oh," Lani said, pulling out her axe to defend herself from whatever that was about to happen, "What's he doing?"

"I don't know..." Lovrina wondered worriedly, backing away like the others. "I hope it's not serious..."

Suddenly, the Garuda started flapping around frantically in place while it was glowing and shouting, "URGH! Urgh! Urgh! Urgh! Urgh!" Then the strangest thing happened…

The glowing stopped and the Garuda was fine... "Urgh? I'm... okay?" And it was talking coherently!

Everyone gasped, "You can talk perfectly!_?_"

The Garuda gasped itself, "I am? Wow! I can talk! Well, talk more than just single words and all..."

"There's no way that little gem helped its voice speak words we can understand," Lani said, in shock.

"It does have healing properties," Lovrina shrugged, "Eiko said it as much... just never see stones do that before."

"At least I can properly thank you all," The Garuda said flying up to Dagger and then dropped a gemstone in her hands. It was a glowing green emerald. "If you helped Feather Circle in the Lost Continent, then I assume you have helped the rest of our friends."

"We have," Dagger nodded, "And we have friends that are heading for the Jabberwock in the Forgotten Continent and then they'll head for the Yan at Vile Island."

The multicolored bird gasped, "They need this emerald then! If he doesn't have it, the Yans will fight without mercy for trying to demand their king. Because of his power, the Yan you want to find is heavily guarded by the others. Do you have any idea how long me and the others earned their trust? The Yans are powerful beyond everyone's expectations!"

The girls looked to each other in shock, "The Invincible's faster than the Eidolons." Dagger stated.

"But Vile Island is closer to Madain Sari and the Iifa Tree," Eiko said.

"Once we get to Madain Sari, we can help them out once they reach the island themselves," Lani figured.

"But I think we should get everyone down by the Qu's Marsh," Lovrina added, "Hopefully, they will be done by now helping Quina face her master."

"Knowing her, she'll be fine," the bounty huntress waved off. "You say she's a resilient woman, right? And after all the stories you've been filling me in with..."

"In fact, I bet they are done right now," Dagger quickly added as she got ready to summon another Eidolon, "So we should get going..."

"So you can get back with Zidane..." Eiko said in a sly tone.

When she heard that, it instantly stopped the teenage Summoner in her tracks as she nearly dropped the staff in her hands. In addition, she had a blush on her face that would have been seen if she wasn't facing away from the others.

"Bingo..." Lani smirked.

Lovrina walked over to her and patted her surrogate cousin on the shoulder and gave her an assuring smile, "It's okay; I want to see Ron just as much as you want to see Zidane." Dagger smiled back and nodded before trying to summon, but was stopped by the ninja/summoner once more. "Maybe Eiko should summon this time," She continued. "We wouldn't want to have you exhaust yourself from all the excess summoning." She then turned around towards her sister. "Eiko, you should summon Phoenix and get us down to Zidane and the others."

"Yeah," Eiko noted as she got her flute ready to play.

(Play Bolero of Fire from Ocarina of Time)

"_Sacred beast of the flames! Bringer of life! I call upon thee, Phoenix!"_

A red light shined from above and from its portal, brought out the rainbow and crimson colored phoenix to hover over the mountain. It then flew right by the cliff, waiting to bear the weight of passengers.

"Time to go, guys," the youngest Summoner said as she walked on to Phoenix's back.

"Cool," Lani said, strapping the axe on back again before landing next to Eiko on the Eidolon.

Dagger turned to the Garuda and bowed slightly, "Thank you for your help."

"Thank you for your help," the Garuda replied in kind before Dagger hopped on to Phoenix's back.

"We'll be sure to give your regards to the Yan," Lovrina added as she jumped on to the Eidolon's back as well.

"I'm sure you will," the multicolored bird replied, "Bye now..."

"Goodbye," the girls chorused as Phoenix took flight and then descended towards the Qu's Marsh.

As Garuda watched them fly down towards the Mist-covered grounds he flew away from the mountain pass...

"Hopefully, they can stop Ozma and stop the real threat on this world," He said to himself, flying into the sunset.

* * *

><p>(Marshlands near Qu's Marsh)<p>

Sticking close to the Qu's Marsh, Zidane, Quina, Freya, and Vivi stood around and waited for the Invincible to come and pick them up.

"Well, I think we're a little early for the return," Zidane stated, "Fighting Quale seemed a lot more time consuming than I thought..."

"It would seem that we have to wait a bit longer for Ron to return with the Invincible," Freya nodded, looking up at the skies through the Mist. "Luckily, it's fast and all Ron has to do currently is find the friendly Jabberwock at the Forgotten Continent."

"We have to hope that it's not in any trouble since the Mist is over there as well," Vivi added, "There has to be a lot of monsters killing out all the original life on all the other continents."

"Don't worry," Quina spoke up, "We safe... we know others safe as well."

"We know the girls are pretty much lightening the load by heading up towards the Garuda," the Genome stated. "So that leaves two left. But since the girls are leaving to go back to Madain Sari, we may just go back into the Qu's Marsh and just sit back and relax."

The female Qu nodded, "I ask Master Quale to use kitchen. I make big feast."

"You know, he's not your Master he said," the Burmecian Knight told her. "You've surpassed him; you are your own Master in a way. You can do anything with yourself."

"She's right, Quina," the Black Mage added, "You even showed him that the way he taught you wasn't the right direction back at my Grandpa's old house. In a way, you surpassed him before the battle had already started."

"Ah, I remember..." Quina replied, "Just habit old..."

"I understand," Zidane added, "I've been in and out of Tantalus, plus being the man who raised me, I've been calling Baku 'boss' all my life. And I bet you've been around Quale so much, that the 'Master' term sticks with ya."

"That true," the Qu replied.

"Alright, let's just go back to the Quale's house and then wait for the others," Freya stated, "We could brave the Mist and head for Lindblum, but we would alert Regent Cid to what we are facing; against Dagger's wishes."

"And the only place to go is the Chocobo's Forest," Vivi added, "But I think Mene would have moved away since the Mist leaked in."

"A lot of problems, that's for sure," Zidane sighed, "Then let's get back to Quale's house then..."

Suddenly, a giant wind blew away the Mist surrounding the area along with the brilliant and red glow lighting up the area. It immediately caused the four to cover their eyes.

"Hey, who turned on the lights," the Genome asked out loud, not expecting anyone to give out an answer. But...

"Don't worry Zidane!" A familiar voice called out to the four from above. "It's just us!"

Everyone had to narrow their eyes to have some sight into the red light, and saw the Eidolon Phoenix hover above them. And riding on it were Eiko, Dagger, Lani, and Lovrina all waving back.

"It's them?" Vivi wondered.

"But I thought they were en route to Madain Sari," Freya shouted over the flapping wings, also puzzled.

"That little detour we took was quicker than we thought," Lani called out. "We found the Garuda!"

"And since you were waiting for Ron, we thought we should come pick you up first and take you with us to Madain Sari," Dagger added. "With everything covered by Mist, we have to assume the Mist monsters are also there. We'll need all the help we can get!"

"Good call," Zidane waved, "Can you let us on?"

"Uh, I think we need another Eidolon for some more room," Eiko said, sheepishly. "I don't think Phoenix can hold more than the four of us."

"Then, I'll need to summon Bahamut and..."

Lovrina snapped her fingers, "I got it! My wyvern!"

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

"But, that thing's too small," Zidane stated.

"Just watch," the ninja/summoner giggled as she bit her thumb, made a string of hands signs and slammed the blood on the ground, and making a large puff of smoke. What emerged shocked everyone as they had to look up and meet the same wyvern that Lovrina always summoned... but just as big as Bahamut! "I can change the size of this one; he's not an Eidolon and he's not one for fighting. So..." She hopped from Phoenix and then jumped on to her wing-armed dragon. "How about we go to Madain Sari?"

"You guys heard the lady, let's go," Zidane said as he hopped onto Phoenix's back, landing next to Dagger, "Miss me?" He asked with a grin.

"Not much…" Dagger nodded.

"Not what she implied back on the mountain," Lani muttered to Eiko, causing her to giggle with her.

Soon, Freya hopped onto the large wyvern with Vivi and Quina climbing up the tail to reach the back.

"Are we ready," Lovrina asked her sister.

"Just say the word," Eiko replied with a smile.

"Alright," the ninja/summoner nodded and then turned to her monster, "Wyvern, to Madain Sari!"

"Phoenix, follow the Wyvern," Eiko added.

Both giant flying beasts took to the skies once more, flapping their wings to spread out the Mist. Wyvern started heading for the north with the blazing Eidolon on its trail.

* * *

><p>(Skies over the Outer Continent)<p>

It was hours after the team of eight left the Mist Continent and headed for the Outer Continent, more specifically the Lost Village of the Summoners. Each of them traded stories amongst each other, filling each other in about the trials they endured. Quina was again praised that she was able to surpass her master in combat. She even showed off her new weapon, confident she will be able to use it effectively. Then, Dagger, Eiko, Lani, and Lovrina filled in everything about their pre-emptive strike on a Grand Dragon, ending the battle quickly, coming across the Garuda who had been 'healed' by the Feather Circle's Lapis Lazuli to allow it to talk. But that's when they were able to get to real heart of the matter...

"So, we have to make sure the Yan gets that emerald," Zidane said to Dagger, summarizing the bottom line of her story. "Seems simple enough..."

"No, it's not..." Dagger replied back.

"Why not," the Genome asked back.

"We have to make sure that Ron finds the Jabberwock before we get the emerald to the Yan," Eiko replied.

"Like I said before this whole thing started, the Yans are the most aggressive monsters ever," Lani interjected. "Just being around their territory will set them off! But then we heard about them having a King, and it would make sense..."

"'King'," Zidane questioned...

And on the Wyvern, Lovrina filled in the others about the situation as well.

"Garuda told us that the friendly Yan has power that the others want to protect," Lovrina said to her passengers. "We can use the emerald we got from it to see it."

"And Ron was planning to see the Yans after his trip back from the Forgotten Continent," Vivi realized.

"Which means, he and the others are in trouble if they decided to land there," Freya noted. "But why are we not heading them off to warn them?"

"Madain Sari's closer to the Vile Island," the ninja/summoner replied. "And it is also conveniently near the Iifa Tree, so we'll be able to face Kuja and stop him from destroying Gaia."

"That very good thing," Quina stated. "So we go to Summoner Village, yes?"

"That's right," Lovrina nodded, turning back ahead. "Besides, Eiko and I are worried about the moogles with all the Mist around that village, spawning the monsters unknown to this world. I don't even want to think about the possibility that..."

"They're not," Eiko called out to her sister. "They know a lot of good hiding places so that nothing would eat them. I'm worried just as much, but we known them for most of our lives that they won't get into much trouble without a chance to run."

"She's right," Dagger added, "Don't give up on them..."

Lovrina smiled and nodded to both of them.

"Hey, I can see the village," Zidane shouted, pointing out the ruined village from afar.

"Yeah, there it is," Vivi added.

"Alright then," Eiko announced, looking to her Eidolon, "Phoenix, prepare to land!"

"You too, Wyvern," Lovrina added, patting her monster's head. "Let's land!"

* * *

><p>Both flying creatures let out a call of response to their mistresses and began their descent, leading them and their other passengers down into the Mist covered ground. They flapped their wings towards the ground in order to slow down their descent, causing the Mist around to be blown away until they safely landed on the ground. Both of them called out and leaned more towards the ground in order to let their passengers off their backs. One by one, everyone jumped down from the flying animal they were on and safely had both feet on the dusty grounds.<p>

"Thanks for your help, Phoenix," Eiko said to her Eidolon, raising her flute in the air. "Dismiss!"

The Phoenix cawed as it vanished into a portal of sparkling light.

"You too Wyvern, great work," Lovrina said to her dragon, slightly caressing its cheek. She held up a hand sign and yelled, "Dismiss!"

The wyvern exploded in a puff of smoke, free it from the normal plain. Once done, everyone turned to the village behind them and then approached the entrance.

* * *

><p>(Madain Sari)<p>

Once inside, the place was what everyone thought it would be; dark and gloomy from the Mist covering the sunlight. Still, everyone was able to see everything it had. Dagger, Eiko, and Lovrina had some sadness in their eyes, as if they just now experienced Madain Sari's downfall and it wasn't the day when it was destroyed by Garland's command.

"Oh my," Freya gasped in shock, "So it is true about this place... Garland had Kuja and Eclipse to destroy this place."

"Still, it was our home," Lovrina sighed, "But now because of the Mist... look at it..."

"I thought it would be worse since this place is closer to the Iifa Tree," Zidane figured.

Dagger turned to him, "How do you think?"

"You remember the Mist Continent," the Genome stated, "The Mist was all around us, not just above us. We had to get above ground in order to escape it."

"Right," Vivi realized, but then turned to Eiko and Lovrina, "But still... they never had to experience Mist like we did and just having it around their home, blocking out the sun cannot be good for them."

"What about those moogles who live here?" Lani wondered.

And on cue, one of them showed himself and saw the eight people before him. Eiko immediately called him out...

"Morrison, we're back!" She shouted to him.

Morrison gasped as he flew up to the Summoner women and the three of them quickly embraced, "Lady Eiko! Lady Lovrina! You've returned!"

"We told you we would be back someday," Lovrina said amusedly.

Morrison was released from their hug and then flew up to the sky and yelled, "Everyone! Eiko and Lovrina are back!"

"Kupo! Kupo! Kupo! Kupo!"

Soon, flying from the broken house were the other four moogles, Mocha, Moco, Chimomo, and Momatose. Once they saw the two Summoners they had established a familial relationship.

"Eiko! Lovrina!" They shouted as they flew at them full speed, hug attacking them as all of them let out happy laughter.

"Wow, what a family reunion," Lani said, smiling genuinely at the sight before her. "But then again, can't blame them at all for this."

"I can't either," Dagger added with a sad smile on her face.

After another minute, the pile of moogles and Summoners all got up and wiped the dirt off their clothes.

"So, what brings you back home?" Morrison asked.

"Well…"

* * *

><p>Time was spent for Lovrina and Eiko to tell them about what has happened when they left Madain Sari. The moogles were amazed when they heard that the girls were able to summon Alexander, but saddened when he was destroyed by the same force that destroyed Madain Sari years ago. Lovrina told her how she fell into a relationship with Ron, giving them something to be happy about and knowing that she was able to find love and gave Eiko hope that she would too. Once again, the mood was saddened when they asked about Mog. Eiko smiled thought as she told them that Mog was actually an Eidolon in disguise and left her the ribbon. The sadness turned to surprise. That's when they got to the now; learning that the world was in danger and Kuja caused the Iifa Tree to expel more Mist around the world.<p>

The moogles said they had to run and evade from several monsters that wasn't anything that they were used to; zombies. But using several team tactics, they were able to break them apart and bury the remains.

"It's good that you have come back home after all this time," Morrison said, "And what an impressive journey you all have made..."

"But it's not feeling too good back home," Momatose stated, drooping his head. "Ever since this Mist came, it's been dark and gloomy..."

"The Mist covered up the sky," Moco sighed, "It makes me feel so sad, kupo."

"I know how you feel," Eiko said.

"The fishing has been horrible since the Mist appeared..." Chimomo said, setting his fishing rod aside. "That Kuja guy knows how to ruin a moogle's good day..."

"Aw," Quina sulked, "No more tasty fishies?"

"Our old records are fading because of the Mist, kupo," Mocha added, "Maybe it's because of the seawater nearby..."

"I guess the Eidolon Wall is suffering, too," Lovrina sighed, "Anything else happen while we were gone?"

"Actually, there is," Morrison stated as he started to fly away, "Follow us into the house..."

The moogles followed after him, leaving everyone confused and then also followed after him.

* * *

><p>Everyone soon reached the house, with the moogles already inside and Morrison waiting for the others.<p>

"What's this about?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah, Morrison," Eiko noted, "You could have told us from back at the entrance."

"In due time," the moogle responded as he went up to stairs, leading to the bedrooms. "While you were away, we ran into a familiar face that needed our help. Someone not from our continent..."

"Someone else came to the Outer Continent?" Zidane wondered. "Who is it?"

Morrison turned to the stairs and called out, "Ma'am, they're here..."

Everyone looked confused as they heard footsteps coming downstairs. But then, everyone except Freya and Quina was on edge at the person who came down. An Amazon-like woman that had blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a green leather dress that stopped down above her knees. She looked at everyone with a tired smile.

"Hello..."

"Callisto!" Lani and Eiko shouted.

"You helped her?" Zidane looked to the moogle, "Last I checked, she robbed the village and tried to kidnap Eiko in the process! Also, she tried to get at Ron and Lovrina because she thinks we wanted to get the bounty off our heads by..."

"...Killing my mother," Dagger finished, "Why would we do that?"

"Yeah... that was all me..." Callisto sighed as she walked down the stairs. "But I assure you, I'm not here to fight and I'm not here to stir up trouble... in fact, I couldn't move away from this place right now in my current condition."

Lovrina stepped up to the calm bounty huntress and asked, "Then how did you get back here?"

"I did have a boat," Callisto replied, "And I'll admit I was trying to get back at you and your little boyfriend for beating back at Lindblum. Revenge was on my mind that I was willing to scour the four continents of Gaia to regain what little pride I had in my abilities." She then laughed a little as she sat down at the table. "However... fate had a little something to say about that..."

"Like what?" Vivi asked carefully.

"After not being able to find you all, I tried getting back to the Mist Continent, but some cataclysmic thing happened that caused the large waves to form in the ocean that caused my boat to be shipwrecked and destroyed before my eyes. Not wanting to give up, I tried swimming with the remains I could salvage and kept going and got back to Outer Continent. I wanted to go back to the Mist Continent, but Fossil Roo got blocked by some stupid roots. I became so weak after wandering around for days and found myself in front of this village and passed out." She leaned back into the chair and sighed, "When I woke up, I found myself being tended to the moogles here... they rescued me. Some of them were hostile, like I figured because of what I done by the big moogle here insisted that I would get better. Days of being bedridden, with the very moogles I tried to rob and hurt their friend in the same village, it all came full circle... That's when I realized I've been selfish all my life..."

Lani had gasped as she remembered something that Ron said when he confessed to everyone about his origins and about herself...

* * *

><p>(Flashback)<p>

_She remembered being enraged that Ron knew things but didn't tell everyone about the things that already happened and all the work. Then, after explaining some changes it got down to her..._

_"Is there anything else that changed?" Lani asked, calming down completely after the outburst._

_Ron smiled, "Actually, you're one of the changes... at first; when Queen Brahne ordered to get the Alexandrian Pendant back and killing Vivi, you were happy do so since you were going to hold nothing back. But thanks to me and our chance meeting at the Festival of the Hunt, all that flirting and wanting to know how well I fought must have outweighed all of that."_

_Lani sighed, "True, I would've taken the money no matter what... and yeah, I had a tiny crush on you... but since Lovrina had taken a shine to ya, I backed off..."_

_"Right..." Ron mumbled. He then turned to Lani and Amarant together. "For you guys, you were never partners in bounty hunting and your first job was going to get Zidane and everyone back in Madain Sari. Plus Callisto never existed... if anything, Lani, you were in her place when she held Eiko for ransom."_

_"Did anything major happen to me?" Lani asked, but she was reluctant to know from how she scratched her head._

_"After Amarant stepped in, you ran off but were injured somehow, leaving you in the care of the moogles in Madain Sari." Ron replied._

_"She lived there?" Eiko and Lovrina asked._

_All Ron could do was nod. "She backed off and she was not hostile the next time around."_

_"I wonder if that happened to Callisto?" Lani wondered._

_"Maybe," Ron shrugged._

(End Flashback)

* * *

><p>The bounty huntress just had an epiphany and stared at Callisto, imagining herself there in her place; a completely broken and changed woman. Different from the one who wanted money, the things she could do with it, and nothing else. <em>'Damn.'<em> She thought, _'This is like... staring at a mirror somewhat...'_

Callisto turned to her rival, staring at her, "So, I guess you're the top bounty huntress now."

Hearing that snapped Lani out her thoughts and looked at Callisto more intently, "O-Oh, right... I guess I am..." She said, unsure of her words.

"Huh?" Callisto said, "I figured you would be gloating; making me eat my words from what I said in the years we've been at it. Now you see me at my worse, you don't take advantage?"

Lani sighed, "Because... if it were another, alternate world... I'd probably be in your shoes right now. Weak, having others do things for me, and having to take a long look at my life." She shook her head, "It wouldn't be right... I can actually see myself being this way..." She then looked Callisto in the eye and asked, "Tell me, how is it here? Not worry about the job for once..."

Callisto had on a genuine smile when she heard that as she responded with, "It's so wonderful living with moogles. I haven't thought about money once since I've been here." She then looked to Lovrina with the same smile and said, "I'm glad I lost our last fight; granted it wasn't the reason I woke up from all this, but... I'm sorry..."

Everyone looked at the Amazon woman and felt her sincerity through her words. Lovrina, Eiko, and Dagger walked to her and smiled. "Apology accepted," Dagger said for them.

"This really is a nice place you got here," Callisto stated, "Ruins or not. I do hate the fact that it became ruins in the first place... but I guess you all made it work out."

"It's okay," Eiko nodded, "We still had each other..."

"By the way," Callisto continued. "Have you seen the Eidolon Wall, that moogle Mocha was talking about?"

"No, but he told us that it was kind of ruined by the Mist," Lovrina replied.

"You know, I saw some words that might mean something in that place over there." The Amazon continued. "Couldn't make heads or tails of it all, since I don't know much about your history aside from what the moogles told me."

"Hmm?" The Summoners asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Callisto asked. "It's out in plain sight... I guess the Mist or the seawater washed over it and uncovered the writing... years of decay wiped off, ya know?"

Eiko looked to her sister and Dagger, "We should check it out!" She offered. "We never saw the writing all our lives!"

"I agree with Eiko," Lovrina nodded.

"Then let's not waste anymore time," Dagger stated as they rushed out of the house and headed straight for the Eidolon Wall.

"Hey, wait up!" Zidane shouted as he ran after them.

"I'll come, too," Vivi added, chasing after Zidane.

"I think I see if fishies come when I fish!" Quina said, heading out to the kitchen.

Freya sighed walking after her, "I'll make sure she doesn't jump in that river..."

Soon, it was Lani and Callisto together as the former sat down at the table with her.

"So, what's your story in all this," Callisto asked her rival. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Oh, I got stories to tell you..." Lani smirked as she began her tales.

* * *

><p>For the rest of the gang, they ran towards the far side of the village and into the Eidolon Wall. Inside, they found that the place did have some signs of water being let into the sacred murals and caused smudges up against them.<p>

"Oh wow, something did happen," Dagger looked out.

"But it doesn't look like the murals of the Eidolons were damaged," Lovrina said, examining the few next to her. "Only blotches on all open spots."

"Weird," Eiko mused, "It's like the water missed the Eidolon murals..."

"And for good reason, look," Vivi said, looking near the entrance.

"Yeah, there's something carved on it..." Zidane added as the girls came by their side and looked at what it said.

"We repeated the mistake our ancestors made 500 years ago. We failed an attempted summon at the foot of the Iifa Tree. The area surrounding the tree was unaffected, but we sealed the area as they would have done 500 years ago."

"This is talking about the sealing of Leviathan with Carbuncle being the wall," Eiko stated, "And the one 500 years ago was Alexander..."

"It still amazes me that Alexander ended up where Alexandria would be made," Lovrina figured.

"You know, we should find more of these words amongst the wall," Vivi figured.

"Yeah, good idea," the youngest summoner exclaimed as everyone scattered and searched out more carvings on the Eidolon Wall. "Here's one!" She then recited. "When the arrogant one summoned a power that could not be controlled, holy judgment was passed. The jewel of this village must serve as a reminder of the day we had to leave our country." She subconsciously moved to the jewel on her earring. "Alexander..."

"Hey guys, here's another one..." Zidane alerted as he began to read, "This information is yet to be confirmed, but there was an eyewitness account of a previously-undiscovered eidolon. It was witnessed in Esto Gaza. If there is an eidolons that can exist outside of our legends, our theory would no longer hold true. But maybe there are other tribes that have legends of their own."

"What!" The Summoners yelled as they forgot about the rest of the carvings and ran over to where Zidane was and read what he read.

"Someone else summoned Eidolons?" Dagger gasped. "But I guess that was how Mother was able to, but there was someone else aside from the Summoner Tribe?"

"This is new to me, also," Lovrina added, "But who would know?"

"Beats me," Eiko shrugged, "But this is crazy..."

"How about we find the rest of the message," Vivi asked, hoping the shock would go away.

"Uh, yeah..." Dagger said as she and the others started to spread out once more, "Let's do that..."

Zidane patted Vivi on the back, "I guess it's a tribe thing. There could be stuff we thought we can only do and then shocks us when we hear of another set of people doing the same thing."

Lovrina had gone back to the spot she was checking and then found another mural. She read the contents, causing her to gasp and then turn to Eiko who was right next to her, still looking for other messages. "Eiko..." She whispered.

The young sister turned to her and saw the elder sister wave her over. Once Eiko was there, Lovrina pointed to the message and the former read it softly.

"Eiko, you are a treasure born to a dying village," Immediately she gasped as she continued, "Lovrina, you are the star that grants the miracle. We are dying, and there is little we can do for you both. We shall return to the stars with one wish in mind. If legends are not born of eidolons and eidolons but born out of legends, let us leave this place with one wish: If we can give birth to a legend, it shall create an eidolon that is friend and protector of humans."

Both sisters had tears in their eyes as they knew who it was that wrote that. "Mommy..." Eiko uttered.

"And dad, too," Lovrina added as she read the next excerpt. "Eiko, Lovrina, my lovely children. Until you both turn 16 and have your own eidolon to your control, stay in this village. Then build strong friendships with others. I wish for your happiness from far away." She then hugged her sister with teary eyes on both of them.

While that was happening, Vivi looked at another message...

"The First Eidolon Discovered, Shiva. Shiva took the form of a young girl when she was first discovered. She now appears as a grown woman. Eidolons adapt their forms to the time and culture in which they appear. Shiva illustrates this theory. In certain areas, Shiva is depicted as a snow fairy. This cannot be verified, since the only written document that remains is in the Summoner village. People associate Shiva with the snow fairy. Why she changes forms remains a mystery."

"So the Eidolons can change, too," the black mage mused. "Then again, anyone can change if they want too..." He then caught sight of the next one went by.

"The Legend of Eidolons: We discovered eidolons by researching legends documented from around the world. The Thunder God, Ramuh is one of those legends. Some theorize that the eidolons were created from the legends, and not the other way around."

"Hey, that makes sense," He smiled. "Because they actually exist and then they can create their own legends."

Dagger then finally saw three of the excerpts actually nearby and started with the leftmost message...

"This is where the fault lines collide. Listen to the planet's heartbeat. Breathe slowly, and calm your mind. Let memories return to you. Memories shape time. Time overlaps. The overlap becomes our memory. Memories construct time. History repeats itself. We must stand in its flow and understand the world. Such is the goal of our tribe."

The Summoner gasped as she felt the words ring true in her mind and heart, coming to this place found where her true origin lie and remembered nearly everything. But the next excerpt made her feel bad...

"Fear not the power of the summon magic, but the ones who use it. Greed and instability endlessly repeat old mistakes. Will omniscience set us free?"

She suddenly remembered her second Mother, Queen Brahne, had took her power and used it to conquer the Mist Continent and then sought to conquer the world. Unfortunately, Kuja capitalized on it, took Bahamut, killing her and the fleet she took, and finally tried to use it against her and brought Garland to eradicate Alexander and most of Alexandria in the process. She hated to remember that, causing her psychological silence. She thought the next message would calm her down and when she saw it she gasped...

* * *

><p><em>She then saw an apparition of a man with blonde hair, brown eyes, and a horn on his forehead stumbling over to her with a gash over his chest. Immediately, she got ready to cast Cura but was shocked as the apparition went through her and kneeled right in front of the Eidolon Wall. Feeling that he didn't have much time left, he picked up a rock and then started dragging it over the wall and created letters. As Dagger looked on, the letters made words, and then the words made sentences... Once he was done he looked up to the sky and smiled before death took him. Dagger shed tears right then and there, but then saw some similarities to her such as the brown eyes. She then remembered seeing that smile and remembered seeing herself with that smile in the mirror of the castle...<em>

* * *

><p>She then looked towards the wall and read the excerpt near it. When she was done, she broke down crying while hugging the wall where the message was written.<p>

This alerted everyone else out of their searches and reminiscing to go check on her.

"Dagger, are you okay?" Zidane asked with concern, kneeling down by her side. "What's wrong?"

"My... parents..." She sobbed, "My... father... wrote this..."

"Father," Eiko asked, "What do you mean?"

Dagger stepped back from the wall and pointed it at it. Lovrina took it upon herself to walk closer and read over the message.

"I survived the storm. I wonder if you two are okay. I see the two of you smile every time I close my eyes. I imagine I see you when I open my eyes. I have a mortal wound. I won't be able to wait for you very long. I regret being so unemotional all these years. I'm writing down everything here in the hope that you'll read it someday. To my dearest wife, Jane: Although we fought many times, and I may not have shown my affection enough, I love you very much. To my beloved daughter, Sarah: My life changed when you were born. You made me happy. These are the things I want you to know."

That's when she gasped herself, "I remember this! I was only ten at the time but I remember it from when Grandpa showed Mom and Dad this." She stated. "He found another Summoner dead, named Alister that looked like he survived that storm but barely. Right next to his body, he found this message and told me about it. I must have forgotten overtime and never noticed this message being covered up. That man had a wife and a little girl with him that I was told about. I remembered Jane, a nice lady... Grandpa watched her take her daughter, who he said was named Sarah, and flee the island..." She turned to Dagger, "That little girl was you... Dagger..."

"I can't believe it..." Dagger whispered. "I remember my mother, who was with me on that boat. But had never learned who my father was... Just know, I just saw some kind of ghost of him... I saw his final moments writing down that message."

Everyone gasped.

"I guess I was meant to know what happened to my family," the Summoner stated, wiping tears off with her sleeve. "Having not known about anything from before six years of age..."

"Yeah, you deserve to know a lot about yourself," Vivi nodded. "And I'm happy that you learned about yourself."

"And even though you had some hard times, they would want you to live your life," Zidane added, "Pick up the pieces and then keep moving ahead. And at the end, you can say you've done all you can..."

Dagger looked to Zidane and Vivi and nodded with a smile, "Thank you..."

"Now, I think we should get back to the house and rest," Lovrina said, "We all had a heart exhausting day, filled with tearful yet happy memories..."

"Yeah, I need a good nap before Ron gets over to Vile Island with the Invincible," Eiko added. "So, let's do that..."

"Cool, Vivi and I will keep watch until he returns..." Zidane volunteered. "We can light a signal for Ron to stop here instead of Vile Island; beats getting whooped on by the Yans after what Lani kept saying."

Vivi nodded, "You girls had a rough day, and we can handle it until Ron gets back."

"Thanks guys," Lovrina nodded as Eiko hugged Vivi and Dagger hugged Zidane. The three Summoner girls then took their leave from the Eidolon Wall with their head held high.

"Alright Vivi," the Genome said to the Black Mage. "Let's get to work."

"Right behind ya..." Vivi said as he followed Zidane out the Eidolon Wall.

* * *

><p>Yes, it is done! And the next chapter will involve those damn Yans... hang on to your hats!<p>

Next time: Ron and his team scour the Forgotten Continent to find the friendly Jabberwock. (Scene of Ron, Choco, Amarant, and Steiner landing on the Forgotten Continent overlooking the canyons)

Then, it's on to Vile Island. (Scene of the Invincible reaching the small island near the Iifa Tree)

Hopefully, the local natives will be hospitable... (Scene of several pug-like monsters growling)

Next Chapter: The Final Friendly Animals: The Key to Ozma

Please Read and Review! Later!


	4. CH 59: The Key to Ozma

Duelist of Dawn: Whoo! I am so glad I came back to this; the ideas are coming out now! The story will be finished, so sayeth I! That may not be a real word, but I don't care! This will be an interesting chapter for you all, and long too.

Lovrina: Excited, I see...

DoD: Heck yeah! Gotta say, you're one of the biggest inspiration as my first main character I ever created. The people love you!

Lovrina: Happy to be a part of the story. Just hope that Ron will be able to make the big decision when it is all said and done.

DoD: Many people feel the same way. But for now, it's story time! The Disclaimer please!

Lovrina: The Duelist of Dawn does not own FF9 or anything apart of it. He only has ownership of his OCs, one of them being me.

DoD: With that note, it's time to start the chapter! Enjoy

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 59<strong>

**The Final Friendly Animals: The Key to Ozma**

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible – Cockpit)<p>

Inside the Invincible, I guided the airship towards the Forgotten Continent. I really got the hang of controlling this airship. Sometimes I chalked it up to having Eclipse's full strength within me, or somehow I just got better by controlling vessels such as that boat to the Blue Narcissus. Or rather, I'm just coming into it all on my own by having the privilege to step and wanting to control the vessels for helping others. Others...

'_Once again, I'm thinking of the future,'_ I thought sadly, _'I'd have to leave this place and then leave all of this behind... including Lovrina...'_ I growled. _'Grown up so much with all of this experience and I can't choose between my world and this one... damn...'_ I shook my head trying to erase those thoughts. _'Some other thoughts... any other thoughts... well, there's the fact that I might be growling a tail...' _I sighed, _'But that's not even remotely as bad... I would be comforted by everyone... man, and I'm falling into depression that easily.'_ I then got a serious look on my face, _'If I don't see this through, no one will have a future to worry about... so I got to stop whining about my wants for now...'_

I was interrupted out of my thoughts by the familiar sound of clacking armor; something that still was irritating me. Anyway, I knew Steiner was coming into the cockpit to see me.

"What's going on, Steiner?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the screen.

"Are we reaching the Forgotten Continent soon?" the Alexandrian Knight asked.

Looking over the screen and also looking to the Mist with my Aura Sight, noticed the rocky and barren wastelands of the continent dead ahead. "We should be there in about 20 minutes, but we probably won't get out until we know for sure the whereabouts of the Jabberwock, unless you remember."

"I remember Zidane and Amarant having to climb up canyon and met with some monsters that weren't friendly with us," Steiner recalled. "And they were not tough to begin with... only used spells that were able to lift us up in the air or bring us down to the ground."

"Must have been the Spells Light and Heavy," I figured, "I thought they would use some spells to take advantage of that like a Wind-based Spell while in the air and then use Earthquake while on the ground. Sounds like it to me they were doing it to annoy the Hell out of you guys."

"They couldn't use it on me," the Alexandria Knight chuckled, "My armor was too heavy."

I couldn't help but laugh as well, "Glad you were sent to the Wind Shrine then... and maybe it's a good thing you don't by new armor despite how everyone makes fun of it." Hearing Steiner grumble, I had to ask this, "Why don't you change your armor, might I ask?"

"It saved me from countless battles where I would have died," Steiner said, "It would be pointless for me to give it up after all it's been through..."

"Man, now I feel bad about you getting rid of that armor," I smiled, "At least you stick true to yourself, eh? Not letting peer pressure get to you and giving in; I'm proud to know you..."

"Yes, well..." He stammered, "There is a real reason why I came and talked to you..."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I wanted... to get your advice... on women..."

Hearing that made me look at the Alexandrian Knight strangely with a raised eyebrow; he was coming to me for advice? I haven't given good advice on women since... ever!

"Seriously," I asked, "Why me?"

"Well, I see that you and Miss Lovrina are fond of each other very deeply," Steiner replied, walking over to me until he reached my side. "And I was wondering if you can help me out with a woman I'm... er... acquainted with..."

"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't know where to start," I said with a knowing smile, "I mean, Lovrina's the first woman I ever dated and loved. I never was a hit with the ladies before and I just got lucky and it all worked out." I took a deep breath afterwards, "What I'm trying to say is that if you love this woman, tell her... otherwise she's going to be out of your life in the way wanted. More importantly, you need to be honest with yourself and to her when you get to that stage."

"I see..." He noted. "I'll do that... thank you."

"No problem," I replied as I heard Steiner make his way out. That's when I wanted to mess with him, "And I know Beatrix is going to love you back..."

When I heard the audible gasped from the Alexandrian Knight, it took all of my will power not to crack up in front of him and heard him turn on his heel. "Y-Y-Y-Y-You know?"

"Actually," I stopped to look over my shoulder. "She's the only woman I would know to have a thing for you; the only one who is closest to you. I would have talked about some other lady Alexandrian Knights, but I don't think there is anyone else but her. Also, Lovrina and Eiko were at the courtyard when you and Beatrix were about to kiss. I guess you two got caught up in some moment I wasn't there for."

"She wrote me a love letter..." Steiner admitted. "At least I think she did," He then groaned. "I'm still wondering all that... even"

"Actually, Lovrina knew what happened about that letter..." I interrupted, "Eiko was the one who wrote that letter, but it was for Zidane."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, with all the stuff about Dagger becoming Queen, not being able to travel for a while, Eiko saw it as her chance to get her feelings out to Zidane. But complications arose and it fell into Beatrix's hands. She was there because she thought you were the one who wrote that letter after you ran off in another tirade that day."

Steiner sighed, "I see..."

"But look at it this way," I said, "It got the feelings that you two have had for each other for a while... I mean, you two must have felt something before that moment; otherwise you wouldn't have gotten as close as you did that night."

"You're right..." Steiner realized, "And I almost confessed in front of her during Kuja's raid, but it never got out in time..."

"Well, you should get it out after this whole mess is done," I told him. "Don't hold it in..."

"Yes, I understand," Steiner replied. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem..." I said as he left into the interior. "He shouldn't be worried... he just needs to believe in himself..." I found myself a little depressed again, "At least you won't be leaving Beatrix anytime soon, making her feel depressed."

* * *

><p>Minutes later, the Invincible had made it towards the Forgotten Continent and saw how covered the giant wasteland really was. If any of the old monsters were still alive, they would have to be hiding out somewhere because if genocide happened in other places, it would definitely happen here since its one of three continents that has not experienced Mist on a worldwide scale. I lowered the altitude of the airship as much as I could without crashing into the canyons, stopped the airship from advancing any further, and got Amarant to help me out since it was he and Zidane that found the Jabberwocks in the first place.<p>

"Where did you see it?" I asked him.

The bounty hunter looked at the Mist covered area as best he could; remembering the continent layout. By starting from where Kuja sent us on the Hilda Garde I, I was able to help retrace his steps. After some time...

"There... that canyon," Amarant pointed out a curved rocky formation to the east of us. "The things tried to ambush us from atop that canyon wall."

Using the Aura Sight, I saw a forest inside the curve of the canyon he pointed out. Seeing that, I turned Amarant and said, "Prepare to disembark."

Amarant nodded as he went to the back to tell Steiner and Choco the info while I prepared to land the airship next to the canyon.

* * *

><p>(Forgotten Continent)<p>

Once I landed the Invincible near the canyon pass, Amarant, Choco, Steiner, and I were able to walk out the side door and walk along the top of the canyon. The first thing we heard was some weird noises coming from over the canyon, nothing I could recognize...

"Wait a second," Steiner said, "I recognize those sounds..."

"Yeah, me too," Amarant added, "Still annoying as ever..."

"So you mean those are the Jabberwocks we are hearing?" I asked them.

"Correct," the Pluto Knight replied. "But we must be careful..."

"Alright, let's crouch down and then peek over that cliff," I said.

We decided to slouch and scoot up to the base of the canyon cliff. Choco quickly crouched down, Steiner took a knee in the same speed, and Amarant and I huddled on the ground, creeping towards the rock face to see what was happening. We noticed a low number of four-legged monsters with light blue skin, tan underbelly, and green hair shaped like a Mohawk. I then noticed that they had two arms and wore a short, blue vest. They were all around the small forest area and look out from all corners.

"Kweh..." Choco muttered.

"Aren't they an organized bunch?" Amarant scoffed.

"Too organized," Steiner mused.

"I'll say," I noted. "I mean, were they this intelligent when you two, Lani, and Zidane fought them."

"No," the bounty hunter replied, "They just kept building up the same spells... almost made me sick going up in the air and then brought down to the ground..."

"But now, they look like they are protecting something," the Pluto Knight thought out loud, rubbing his chin.

"Maybe something in the forest," I figured, "That's probably what they are protecting..." For the third time, I used my Aura Sight on the area. I saw the Jabberwocks outside of the forest with some weird blue auras I couldn't put a thought on it. Anyway, I focused inside the forest and found out there were three more Jabberwocks there. However, only two of them carried that weird blue aura. The third had a bright purple aura around it. Thinking about it more, I realized that was our special Jabberwock that we had to find. Opening my eyes I turned to the rest of the group and said, "There are more in the forest, and one of them is our Jabberwock."

"That must be what they are protecting," Steiner realized.

"Kweh?" Choco wondered. "Kweeeh..."

"Yeah, but it can't be because of what we did in the past," Amarant stated. "They must be on edge because of the Mist..."

"Yeah, it's supposed to start wars up again like it was meant, too," I figured. "Since it provokes battles and conflicts, it has to do something with their thinking as well causing the fighting instinct... like what that monster inside the Iifa Tree said..."

* * *

><p>(Flashback)<p>

_[I contaminate the other continents with Mist to stimulate the fighting instinct.] Soulcage said. [This, in turn, leads to war among the leaders of nations, and then to the fall of civilization; the intended purpose of Mist. Kuja merely puts the by-product to a different use.]_

(End Flashback)

* * *

><p>"So, no matter what, we may end up fighting them and probably the Yans," I continued. I took a deep breath, "And they will be a pain in the ass... and everything else for that matter."<p>

"Let's just get this thing over with..." Amarant stated as he stood up.

"RAWR!"

"Huh?"

"Kweh?"

All four of us turned around and we noticed some kind of large monster heading right for us. Quickly, we rolled out of the way and evaded the charge. That's when we got a good look at it... It looked like a large, red dragon with decaying skin and bones being visible and had four giant wings that were white and feathers. Something like the dragons from the planet Terra... but I remembered them from the Iifa Tree.

"A Dracozombie!" I gasped.

"KWWWEEHHH!" Choco shouted in shock.

"Dracozombie?" Steiner asked.

"Care to fill us in," Amarant stated.

"It's one of the monsters from the Iifa Tree," I told him. "And around that place is most identified with death as it has many monsters with their souls ripped from their still-living bodies. With this thing around, it's only showing how badly the world is affected."

"That's not all," the bounty hunter pointed out as we turned to see the scene before us. The Dracozombie had turned its attention towards the Jabberwocks at the forest and a battle had begun.

(Play PD-4 from the Bouncer)

The Jabberwocks were launching Aera spells, consisting of light green energy waves that carried numerous mini-tornadoes within. Most of it was blown back by the dragon's wings, causing the Jabberwocks to be blown back, but some did hit their mark underneath the body. But after seeing the dragon stunned, the Jabberwocks picked themselves back up and then went back on the offensive with their Aera magic. I even started to see Aera magic being cast from the forest area, meaning the two inside were now fighting.

"Where was this battle when we fought them?" Amarant asked as another Aera blast in the Dracozombie.

"Like I said before," I replied seeing the Dracozombie smack a couple of the Jabberwocks with its tail, "It's the Mist that's putting the battle in them; they see an enemy moving on their territory and have something to protect, they are going to fight hard and they are going to fight with everything that got." I then felt the dragon start to cast magic of its own. Once I saw the tell-tale signs of electricity being coursed though the body, I yelled, "Hit the dirt!"

Choco had flown behind the canyon for cover while Amarant, Steiner, and I dove for the ground and covered our heads. Next thing we knew, there was a roar from the Dracozombie and then I heart thunder flaring and then I heard lightning striking the ground and things around it. I could feel the rumble of the ground and the dirt kick up on top of me. I was able to look up and then saw the results of that Thundara spell...

Patches of the ground and forest were totaled while the Jabberwocks from the outside were knocked out from the attack. Checking my Aura Sight, I gasped as I saw the two Jabberwocks defending the friendly one had been hit as well and only the friendly one remained.

'_Damn,'_ I thought, _'This Mist makes that thing stronger somehow... and the worse part of this is that none of us are armed with White Magic Spells to kill that thing. Meaning we have to deal that thing the old fashioned way...'_

Seeing the Dracozombie land on the ground and then start to advance on the forest, I wanted to make my move...

"Guys, it's time to rumble!" I shouted as I stood up and shook the dirt off my body.

"KWEH!" Choco shouted as he flew back up the canyon cliff.

"Finally! I was waiting for someone to say that," Amarant said, cracking his knuckles. "I was ready to fight something after that disappointing trip to Terra and most of it was spent on saving Zidane's moping ass. And then Garland was the only real fight I had, and he's dead now..."

"But how will we get down," Steiner interjected, looking over the cliff and how far the jump was, "Surely, you all don't mean to jump all the way down?"

"There's no time for the cautious road, Steiner," I shouted, as I revved up my right leg and had it on fire, "But I'm bringing the fight to him; Dragon Kick!" I shot up my foot to ignite it even more and shot for the flaming dragon from it. The force of it knocked the dragon zombie's face up with a painful roar coming out of its mouth. "Luckily I remembered that zombies hate fire..."

And luckily, my gloating had given the undead dragon enough time to recover from the attack and then focus its attention on us. I did not want those Jabberwocks to get any more of the damage for that dragon to come and finish them off.

"Well Steiner," Amarant said as prepared to fight. "You don't have to worry about jumping down; he's coming to us."

The Pluto Knight silently and readily drew his sword as his response, prepared for battle.

"Choco, strike him down!" I said as the undead dragon began to inhale some air.

"KWWEEH!" The golden chocobo shouted as he zoomed from behind us and headed straight behind the Dracozombie. "KWEHHHHHHHHH!" He then created the familiar energy shield that had a spiral blend of both red and blue colors, signaling for the Spiral Impact attack. Choco drove straight down for the Dracozombie's back, making contact. It caused the dragon to raise its head to the air again and launch a breath of dark green.

"Whoa, that could have zombified us," I gasped.

"Then let's make sure it doesn't happen," Amarant shouted as he reached into his pocket and then pulled out one of his razor disks and then threw them at the dragon zombie's neck, making a giant cut from the front… which pissed off the dragon more... "Damn, it should have cut through!"

"Then the Mist IS making this thing tougher than normal," I realized as we had to dodge a vicious claw strike from the dragon. "Or maybe it is because we've always taken the easy way by hitting them with White Magic?"

"Either way, we have to slay this dragon," Steiner announced as he slashed with his sword to deflect another claw strike. "We need to formulate a plan!"

"Like what?" the bounty hunter grumbled as he threw another razor disk, this time it missed as the dragon swiveled its neck.

Choco was still keeping its distance and then moving in close for attacks every now and then, but the Dracozombie was now onto him and now had its sights set on the golden chocobo. I gasped as I realized something...

"Get the wings so it doesn't fly away," I shouted, "Choco's our best bet in having the advantage against it, and he doesn't have a chance if that thing comes after him!"

"Then I got the attack to strike," Steiner said as I saw the dragon make it's away towards, "But I need to get in close..."

I sighed, "I'll have to throw you on its back, if you're okay with it..."

"If it means getting Choco out of harm's way, I'll do it!" The Alexandrian Knight said as he took his sword into his right hand and held out his left. "I trust you have the aim?"

"For a big enemy like that, you can trust me," I said as I grabbed his left arm and then spun around a couple of times, "Go!" I then released Steiner at the perfect time to send him flying towards the Dracozombie... just in time for the undead monster to try flapping its wings.

Steiner landed perfectly on the undead dragon's back and then yelled out as an orange aura surrounded his blade while raising it up high, "Stock Break!"

I gasped as I heard the attack right and then saw the Alexandrian Knight slash downward, tearing apart the four wings and making the Dracozombie yell out loud, right when it was about to take flight and dropped near the water. Steiner safely dropped to the ground and then assumed his stance with Choco providing support. I turned to Amarant, "I think we can go all out now..."

"Thank God," He said as he jumped down from the cliff and landed near the forest. I shrugged as I followed after him, having to land on the trees and then jump from there. Soon, the both of us reached Steiner and Choco and got ready for the next round with the Dracozombie as it stood up and tried to shake off the pain of losing its wings.

"Let's hit this thing with our best shots and finish this," I said as charged up my arms with electricity, "Thunder Blades!" And then both of my arms became electrical swords like they have done many times before.

The first thing I noticed was that the monster was casting Thundara once more. Once it was unleashed, all the bolts were focused on us instead of all over the place. I crossed my arms in the air and took it in with the blades. "Guys... hit him..."

I was able to catch a glimpse of Choco taking flight, behind the Dracozombie and then Amarant running to the left of the undead monster and Steiner to the right of it.

"Shock!"

"No Mercy!"

I heard Steiner and Amarant shouted as I saw two glowing white energy being charged from both of their weapons. I was able to catch Amarant fire his shining white orb into the chest of the dragon, making it roar in pain as it kept daggering into the skin. Steiner was able to fire off his attack, pointing the sword where Amarant fired and created a white flare that exploded into energy against the orb, blowing a huge hole in the dragon. But since it was a zombie, it was still going on...

"KWWEEEHHHH!" I then saw a brilliant flash of red from Choco as he flapped his wings quickly. Soon, the Choco Meteor was let loose and hammered the undead dragon from behind with burning meteorite rocks. By doing so, the Dracozombie's head lowered down. I then charged with moving to the left in order to have the angle I needed. I noticed the undead dragon following me and tried to stomp me. I jumped back and then jumped towards the downed head and then went into a spin to chop of the head to separate it from the body. If there was one thing I learned from zombies; separate the brain from the body and they are dead for good. Once the head was chopped off, the body had stopped moving and fell over to its side, and for the kicker, into the water where it would sink to the bottom.

(End music)

"Well, that takes care of clean up," I said as my arms retracted to normal. "Besides, the rotting of an already dead dragon would have been worse of this continent."

"Then let's care of this thing," Amarant noted as he kicked off the Dracozombie's head into the water, to join the body to the depths. "That was going to annoy the Hell out of me..."

"Kweeeh..." Choco muttered, looking out at the water.

"At least the dragon has been vanquished for good," Steiner nodded. "I say good riddance..."

"Now let's check on the Jabberwocks..." I said, putting my mind back on the real focus. The four of us turned around to see the Jabberwocks that were defending the forest up and about. We looked to see them heading towards the forest area, probably to check on the friendly Jabberwock they were defending against the Dracozombie. They didn't pay us any mind.

Steiner looked to me and said, "We should proceed with caution; they may see us as a new threat for taking down a powerful enemy."

"Yeah, you're right," I nodded. "Hopefully, they'll see us as new allies that helped them. Or matter of fact... you and Amarant should stay behind while I'll take Choco in there for the backup. Since you two had a bad run in with them in the past, seeing some new faces would make sure we come in peace."

"Understandable," Amarant nodded back. "As much as I would be able to handle these guys, if you can stop this from getting hostile... we can get to the real work with those Yans and waste our energy on them."

"Alright," I replied as I then turned to the Chocobo. "Choco, let's go."

I then proceeded into the forest with Choco behind me.

* * *

><p>Of course, the first thing I noticed was how damaged these trees were. The leaves were graying up from the Mist and the bark of trees were darkened and about to fall off, making me wonder why would anything living here want to stay. Must love their land no matter how bad it gets and they'll defend it and their own to the very end. Soon, Choco and I reached the group of Jabberwocks. I saw them talking with each other and crowding around the one I've been looking for...<p>

This Jabberwock had a purple body with a brown underbelly, wearing a lime green vest, and had its Mohawk in a blend of blue, light blue and light green colors. I had noticed a book in its hands, feeling some magic from it. I made sure to approach them calmly and cautiously. Once close enough, the Jabberwocks spotted me and that told me to stop where I was. I didn't sense any hostility from each of them, but wanted to be sure that I came in peace too.

"Hello..." I called out, looking them all in the eye. "I mean you no harm at all, and I came to help you fight off that enemy you were facing earlier. You already know its dead now and I and my companions have done the deed. I wish to speak with the colored Jabberwock..."

When I pointed in the direction of the friendly Jabberwock, the surrounding ones had started to glare and growl at me and Choco. The golden chocobo crouched down lower, preparing to strike if needed but I patted his back to get his attention and shook my head. "We don't want any hostility from these guys, okay?"

Choco nodded as he relaxed and stood up straight, stress free.

Then, I saw the friendly Jabberwock start to walk up towards me and then raise his free hand to calm down the other ones from hostility themselves. Once the monster reached me, I looked down to meet its green eyes. After a minute, it had bowed to me.

"I hear many good things from you, traveler..." It suddenly spoke up in an old, oriental voice and full of wisdom and kindness. "You and your friends have sought us out and helped us in our time of need."

"It was no problem, helping you with that zombie dragon back there..."

"No..." He interrupted softly. "The seven others; like me... I can feel their lifeforce... they have been aided by others. Mu, Ghost, Ladybug, Yeti, Nymph, Feather Circle, Garuda, and myself..."

"Oh, right..." I realized where he was going with this, "The other non-hostile monsters." I then realized he said 'Garuda', meaning the Lovrina and the girls had found him and helped it out somehow. "You did not seek to harm us; what right do we have to do the same?"

"Of course," It replied. "I know that you seek to kill the being of unattainable form, the one called Ozma..."

"That's right," I said. "At first, it wasn't our objective even when helping your friends, but with threat that has covered all of Gaia in Mist, and the only lead we have, we must find you all and obtain the means to destroy Ozma. If I don't, this world will be done and possibly all of existence since Terra was destroyed."

"Yes, I sensed a disturbance within this planet which caused this Mist to appear in this continent." The Jabberwock nodded as he walked around. "We have been seriously harmed because of the strange monsters it had spawned as you have no doubt experienced."

"It won't end unless I can reach the Iifa Tree and deal with the mastermind of this whole thing." I told it.

"Then, your next destination is Vile Island and the King Yan to seek its help," the monster said. "And I know you know about the dangers of just setting foot on that island."

"So I've been told..."

"Then, we have nothing else to discuss," Jabberwock said and then handed me his book, "If all else fails, use that to confirm your meeting with me."

"But won't you need this for your spells?" I asked.

The monster chuckled pointing to its head, "I have learned all I need to know..."

"Okay," I replied, hearing the determination within its voice. I then bowed back, "I thank you for having this conversation kept non-hostile."

"I also thank you for our defense against that Mist monster." It said, bowing back to me.

I turned to Choco, "Let's go..." The chocobo nodded as he followed me out of the forest. "Just one to go... the toughest one before real fight..."

"Kweh..."

* * *

><p>Soon, we made it back to Amarant and Steiner and told them everything I said with the Jabberwock...<p>

"So we're almost done," Amarant just summarized. "But the real work's about to come with after the Yan and that's the toughest one to deal with..."

"Pretty much," I replied. "And for this, we gotta get the group together again."

"Then it is back to the Mist Continent for Zidane's group," Steiner said, "And then to Madain Sari."

"Yeah, the girls did say they were going to check up on their home," I nodded, "Well, let's get back to the Invincible and gather everyone up. I'm actually glad we have to deal with the Yans sort of... because they are going to be nothing if Ozma lives up to Lovrina's grandfather's words."

"And it does perplex me that Ozma has no form to go by," the Alexandrian Knight continued. "And it represents the good and evil; and the light and darkness?"

"Let's just get this over with and we'll know what it looks like," the bounty hunter stated.

"Well put," I said as we made way towards the Terran airship. But then I just realized, "But with the Garuda found, maybe we should get to Madain Sari now. I mean, tough as everyone is now we should get to the Outer Continent now."

"Right," Steiner figured, "They could have the common sense to pick them up first and then head on over to their initial destination."

"Makes sense to bring them all together," Amarant said, "Can we move it now?"

Chuckling, we continued our way to the Invincible. Of course, we had to use Choco to get up the canyon cliff and thankfully he was strong enough to sustain Steiner and his armor's weight in order to carry him up. Afterwards, we set our sights on the Outer Continent to meet up with the others so we can get to Vile Island with safer numbers...

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Outer Continent – Madain Sari - Entrance)<p>

Meanwhile, Zidane and Vivi were sitting atop the ruins of Madain Sari's residences for the Invincible. The Black Mage created a giant bonfire on top of another house to create a light big enough to go through the Mist covering the village. And feeling the night air upon them, they were near some heat to keep warm.

"I wonder what Ron's going to do when all of this is over..." Vivi wondered, looking down at the ruins.

"Hmm?" Zidane muttered. "What do mean?"

"I remembering some talks we had back when Alexandria invaded Lindblum..." the Black Mage recalled. "After he wanted to stay with me while you and Dagger wanted to go search for Regent Cid..."

* * *

><p>(Flashback)<p>

_"Thanks for staying with me, Ron" Vivi said._

_"Strong black mage or not, I'm not leaving an 8-year old to a swarm of Alexandrian soldiers." Ron told him. "Anybody could come out and to kill you and wouldn't care one bit."_

_"Can I ask you something?" Vivi asked._

_"Sure, go ahead." Ron answered._

_"Why do you help me so much?" He asks._

_"What do you mean?" Ron asked back._

_"Well, when we met at Alexandria you just helped me to get me to the castle safely." The Black Mage started off. "After that, you could've left."_

_"Well, we did get caught up in this adventure due to those knights chasing us onto the stage, where the actors were guys sent by the Regent to get the princess to Lindblum." Ron replied. "We couldn't have survived without some help."_

_"No, what I meant was; after Alexandria, you could've left me with Puck to the show." Vivi corrected._

_"Oh..." Ron said. He took a big breath and started talking, "You kinda of remind me of my baby brother; always curious, looking for answers and just this familiarity around ya. Even being on my own, I still miss being around close friends and family."_

_"That's why; you miss your family?" Vivi asked._

_"Yeah... That and I wanted to learn to survive on my own and help people, to guide them in the right direction." Ron said, feeling low, "I hardly had a chance with my brother..." He saw Vivi's expression of sadness, and then cleared it up when he said, "Don't take it the wrong way, he's still alive, I just never helped him as much, since he does hang around me."_

_"Oh, I relieved." Vivi said. "I thought he died a young age."_

_"Nah, sorry about that," The fighter gave a slight smile._

_"It's okay." He said. "But why help me?"_

_"I didn't want to make that mistake again. So when you had trouble getting to the play after having a fake ticket, I sought to help." Ron answered. "Now, when I'm done here and go home, I'll help out, and the rest of my family more. I'm not a selfish guy, I just do less than I realize." Ron smiled at Vivi. "And basically, thanks to you, I've got more friends."_

_"And you did help a lot of people." Vivi added. "You helped Freya's people from dying out all over the world and with all the battles we been in, you did your part to keep us safe, while we did the same for you!"_

_"Yeah," Ron said with a big smile. "I'm doing alright, ain't I?"_

_"Yup!" Vivi answered, and extended his hand. "Thanks for being a good friend and helping us."_

_"Thank you as well." He shook his hand._

(End Flashback)

* * *

><p>"Ah," Zidane nodded. "I figured he missed his family..."<p>

"I know most of what he said was a lie in order to fit in with this world," Vivi said. "But every time he gets into a conversation that leads to family, I can tell he never lied."

"Right," the Genome replied, "But I figure this is the first time he's been away from his home for a long period of time. And then there was the talk about having to grow up... I guess he couldn't do that with living with his parents. Meaning, he hasn't made the biggest decision of all... should he go home to show everyone that he's a grown man, because I think he is..."

"Or he could stay here," the Black Mage finished, "He knows this world now, and he's show he can do a lot to survive and to help others out."

"And to think," Zidane said, lying down on his back. "If he does make the decision to leave, it would break Lovrina's heart to see him go."

Vivi gasped, "Uh oh, I can't believe I forgot about that... those two were always happy together."

"Glad to say I helped along with that," the Genome grinned, "When we were at Lindblum, I told you about his 'fear of women'? Tried to get a guy a date and he acted scared that he was going to be stuck with the girl."

Vivi laughed at the thought of Ron being afraid when it was not a fight or a threat to his life.

"And then, I told you about what he did for me back in Terra," Zidane said, getting serious once more. "Made me feel like I had a brother right by my side, after I even thought of leaving you all behind for Terra... and then afterwards, I really didn't want you all hurt and wanted to find Ron and save him above all else because of that brotherly feeling I had. So, I said all of those things without meaning it."

"But I guess some of Garland's words still got to you in some way..."

"Yup..."

"Now I would feel really bad if he left..." Vivi sighed, "But it's his decision in the end..."

"Yeah, and no matter what we can't interfere with that." Zidane nodded. "I'd still miss him if he decides to leave..."

"Me too..." Vivi added, sighing.

Soon, the sounds of air distortion filled their ears and caused them to sit up. But instead of being worried by any Mist monster attacks, Zidane and Vivi smiled realizing who it was when they saw the Invincible landing near the entrance while creating a big hole in the Mist.

"He's back," the Black Mage stated.

"Yup," the Genome added, "You go greet the guys, and I'll go get the girls."

"Got it," Vivi nodded as both of them made their way down the residences...

* * *

><p>(Eiko's and Lovrina's House)<p>

Once Eiko, Lovrina, and Dagger got back from the Eidolon Wall, the first thing they did was plop themselves on the beds upstairs. Lani and Callisto were still talking to each other like old friends catching up. After the latter spilled her guts about what happened with her, Lani decided to talk about all she had done after leaving Madain Sari, getting more in-depth on the world saving parts. She left out what Ron said about this world being the video game of another dimension, knowing that all they knew was always real.

"Now I'm jealous," Callisto yawned. "You went to another world?"

"You didn't miss much," Lani waved off. "Most of the world may have had monsters to fight, but the natives weren't exactly the most talkative bunch. Still, I saw Ron in the most brutal fight with a psycho with the same face."

"Oh right, the guy who had a fixation on killing him to be the 'only one'. Damn... the guy had it that worse and I thought he wouldn't be much..."

"He's resourceful," Lani said. "And that fight you described me, was nothing in compared to Eclipse... both were broken and bloodied by the end of it, yet our guy came out on top in just a battle of bare knuckles. Glad I was there for it..."

"But now you got worse problems with that Kuja guy," Callisto interjected. "If he can destroy a whole world by himself, what makes you stand a chance?"

"He's close to dying. If we can't beat him in a straight up fight, we can hold him off until his expiration date kicks in and save this world. I would be worried about him hurrying along, but I trust Ron's word in him being fancy enough to wait for us and then try to blow up the world right in front of our faces."

"That sucks... just hope you know what you guys are doing."

"Don't worry, after it's all said and done we can go back to fighting if you want. Or maybe, we can put aside our differences and work together on a new bounty hunting stint alongside Amarant."

"Are you sure?" Callisto asked.

"I'll talk it over with the guy," Lani stated, "If he can tolerate me, you would be no probably."

"I will hold you to it then..."

"Hey guys!"

The girls looked to the entrance to see Zidane running inside.

"What's the matter, kid?" Lani asked, "Monsters too much for you?"

"No, Ron's back with the Invincible!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Alright," the bounty huntress grinned, "So he was smart enough to come here before trying to mess with those Yans."

"And I still think you're crazy for even thinking about going over there," Callisto stated. "Man, these guys have changed you..."

Lani shrugged as she then stood up and went into the kitchen to reach Freya and Quina, "Hey girls, the other men are back with the airship."

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Madain Sari – Entrance)<p>

I was able to land the airship near the village and then had everyone transport towards the bottom, with the symbol on the ground to teleport down. The first thing I saw was Vivi running towards the four of us.

"Hey, Vivi," I greeted as he hugged me. "What's going on?"

"I'm actually surprised to see you," the Black Mage replied as Choco walked over to greet him. "Everyone thought you would have headed for Vile Island after finding the Jabberwock."

"The girls lightened the load for us, actually," I explained, "That Jabberwock told me he can feel the other animals we've helped. So, I can say with this Yan business, we need to have everyone come down and deal with them if we have to."

"Master Vivi," Steiner spoke up, "Are the others up and about?"

"Zidane's just about to get the girls up," Vivi replied, "They sure had an eventful time discovering a lot of things from the Eidolon Wall. Also, there's a person that happened to come by Madain Sari."

"This I have to hear about," I stated as all of us went inside the village. "By the way, how'd fight go with Quale?"

On the way, Vivi talked about how Quale had uttered trounced him, Zidane, Freya, and Quina without truly breaking a sweat. I was amazed as I thought the Qu Master would be tougher than nails to go down without a hard fight. But then hearing how Quina used her other senses to counteract everything that Quale did next when he silenced and blinded her, I was happy to hear that she had Quale on the ropes after that and won it by herself.

I was going to ask what was up with the girls here, but decided it was for them to talk and not Vivi's. But he did talk to me about how the Eidolons could actually grow up, telling me about a passage he read about Shiva. That would make sense because they changed in every other game. Anyway, after adding my travels and the battle with a Mist Monster, we made it to the Carol's house. But what was inside was what shocked me...

Lani was casually talking with Callisto. Freya and Quina were there also, standing around and listening to the conversation. The surprising part was that I was right; Callisto had taken Lani's place since the latter had joined up with me and the original group. However...

"Ahem..." Amarant cleared his throat, alerting the women we were here.

"Oh, hey guys," Lani waved. "I guess you see who else is here."

"Yup," I stated. "And I guess you had a truce of sorts?"

"We have," Callisto added, "I was expecting you to go hostile on me..."

"You don't look exactly fit to fight right now, so that would look bad on me," I replied. "Plus, I think it would be bad if your main rival lost a friend."

The girls shrugged.

"Amarant, are you okay with this," Freya asked.

"As long as I don't have to dirty my hands," the bounty hunter shrugged as he walked back out of the house and we could see him leaning against the wall.

"Is he always like this when he's not fighting," Callisto wondered.

"Oh yeah," Lani and I said.

"So," Freya spoke up again, "How fares the search for that rare Jabberwock?"

"We found him and we had to fight off another Mist monster in the process," Steiner replied, "Needless to say, it solidified our trust agreement with the Jabberwocks."

"Kweh!" Choco nodded.

"We also heard the Garuda was found," I continued, "And then we figured if you finished Quina's fight with her Master, Lovrina and the others would come pick you up and head over to Madain Sari like they said."

"I successful," Quina exclaimed as she raised a new Combat Fork. "I receive Gastro Fork and become Master Gourmand now!"

"Congrats," I replied. "Then again there was no doubt you'd win after all you learned." I then noticed everyone here, "By the way, where's Zidane and the girls?"

"Coming down!"

We all turned to the stairs and saw Zidane, Dagger, Eiko, and Lovrina walking down. The girls looked like they just woke up from resting for some time.

* * *

><p>(Minutes Later...) (Eidolon Wall)<p>

Lovrina and I walked out of her house, hand in hand, and headed to the Eidolon Wall for some privacy. Along the way, she told me how easy it was to find the Garuda we were all chasing and had to fight off a Grand Dragon. Naturally, I was worried for her and the others as it took our strength, adding two Eidolons, and it could keep on coming before Leviathan finished it. By the time we reached the Eidolon Wall, I finished talking about what took place on my side and how I knew to come here instead of Vile Island.

She then showed me the messages on the Eidolon Wall, namely the ones that brought tears to her eyes along with Eiko and Dagger. I was very happy for them all, knowing how much their parents loved them and even Dagger knowing her father in a way, and learning her true name before her royalty.

"I know you girls had your emotional moments there," I said softly as we sat near the messages left by her Mother and Father.

"I am happier for Eiko and Dagger," Lovrina replied, "Everyone in our family died with her at a young age. However, Dagger had everything taken from her in front of her eyes."

"Wait," I interjected, "Shouldn't we call her 'Sarah' now? I mean, that is her real name."

"She said that part of her life is over now," the ninja/Summoner explained, "She always felt stronger as 'Dagger', allowing herself to move on despite everything bad in her life. Hopefully, she continues to be strong."

"Hopefully, we will all be strong once we get to Vile Island," I said.

"With the Emerald in hand, we shouldn't run into any confrontations," Lovrina replied. "We have to worry about Ozma, the true threat afterwards..." She then leaned in close, leaning her head on my shoulder, "But enough about that, we should spend time getting to know my parents through these messages."

"I guess it's the closest thing in meeting them, right?" I smiled as I read over the messages once more. "I know your Dad had to be the one ask what would my intentions would be with his daughter..."

"What would you say," She asked.

"That I will make sure she'd always have someone that will never change who she is," I replied, "That I love her daughter and have her best interests at heart. If she wants it, she'll have the special friend to tell me anything on her mind and listen to her every word, fulfill her every wish, and let her live her dreams. I will always cherish everything she has in the world and hope that I never break her heart..."

As much as I was finished, I couldn't help but feel my sadness return with everything I said. It wasn't a lie, but at the same time, I felt like I couldn't make all that I said a reality. My family has a right to know I have grown from that kid that they raised into the man my friends and I helped shaped. But in doing so... no... I need to find a way to do both; show my family I'm alright and then stay here and finish and rebuild a new life here in this world!

And at the same time, Lovrina leapt into my arms, knocking me to the ground, and then gave me a heartfelt kiss while keeping me pinned. Then, I thought of nothing else than to return the favor and reciprocated her feelings. This is what I wanted, this is where I belonged, and I'll be damned if anyone or anything takes this all away from me.

Selfish, I say to myself? Yes, very much so... was my answer. After all, we are allowed to have selfish desires and I felt strongly for it, too. I do not want to leave this place or Lovrina's side ever again...

* * *

><p>(The next day)<p>

When I woke up, I found myself inside a different place than Eiko's and Lovrina's house. A much larger room and found myself in a larger bed, softer too. Then, I remembered what all happened when I turned to the person by my side in the same bed with me and smiled.

After the event inside the Eidolon Wall, everyone decided to rest in the village to be fully refreshed for dealing with the Yans and most definitely Ozma and meet up at the entrance in the morning. And during that night... Lovrina and I decided to show how much we truly love each other, having found another stable house to be alone...

She looked so beautiful, sleeping peacefully and I could help but keep the smile on my face. After kissing her on the cheek, I decided to get out of bed and walked towards the windows. I still had my boxers on and then used my Aura Sight to check through the Mist, finding the fiery aura of the sun to indicate it was morning.

I then felt an arm wrap around his waist and a kiss on the back of my neck. Smiling, I turned around and embraced the woman I loved behind me, using the sheets to cover herself. "Morning..."

"Morning," Lovrina replied, with a smile. And then she leaned into my chest and whispered, "It was so... wonderful..."

"I'm glad... we had that night," I told her.

We then looked to each other's eyes and said nothing. After last night, what more needed to be said? I belonged to her now, and she belonged to me. She then got on the tips of her toes, cupping my face between her hands, letting the sheet she held drop, so we could share a sweet, gentle kiss.

After we pulled away, we just stood there, smiling at each other for a little while. Finally, as she rested her head on my chest, I had said, "We better get dressed… we got a big day today. Vile Island, Ozma, and then on to Kuja..."

She nodded as we shared one more, quick kiss, and then we went to grab our clothes and get dressed.

* * *

><p>(Madain Sari – Entrance)<p>

Minutes later, we left the house with happier smiles on our faces as we met up with the gang. The person that greeted us was Eiko as she ran up to us.

"There you two are," She said, looking a little angry. "I know you two wanted to be alone sometime, but we have to go find that last animal! After we beat Kuja, you got a lot of time to make out and stuff!"

"Sorry, Eiko," We apologized.

She then walked back to rest of the group as all eyes fell on Lovrina and me.

"Looks like we're all here," I said, "So the next stop: Vile Island and the Yans..."

"I just hope you have a plan," Lani said as all of us began to leave the village of Summoners while the moogles say their goodbyes to Eiko and Lovrina, who stayed behind a little bit. "As much as I'm going through with it, I would hate the mess with those things."

"We just have to show them the Emerald you got from the Garuda, right?" I asked her. "Once we do that, they'll back off."

"After hearing how long the other friendly guys earned their trust, I'm not taking any chances," the bounty huntress said to me.

"If we do have to get our hands dirty, I got your back as well as everyone else's." I assured her. "Trust me; I know the feeling of not wanting to face these guys."

"By the way..." I turned to Lani, who had a grin on her face.

"Yeah..."

"What did you and Lovrina do last night?" She asked slyly.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, breaking eye contact with her as we continued to walk.

"Just saying since I did see you two leave out while everyone was going to bed."

"The house was a little cramped," I replied. And it was the truth since the last time two times I had to bunk with Choco outside. "So she found another spot for us to get some rest, since we didn't want to be in separate rooms."

"So you admit you slept with her?"

I sighed, knowing she wasn't going to let this go, "I did... because I love her."

"About time," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

I rolled my eyes as she decided to speed walk to the Invincible. It was then Lovrina and Eiko caught up to me, seeing the annoyed look on my face.

"What happened?" Lovrina asked.

"Lani was annoying about us," I said.

"You told her the truth, though," She replied, as I looked to her. "I was listening the whole time."

"You would be offended if I said otherwise," I stated.

"And you know me so well," She smiled giving me a light kiss before catching up with the others.

"And what did you two do last night before you went to bed," Eiko asked.

Knowing she was too young to learn about that sort of thing, I just replied, "Something that solidified our relationship... possibly strengthening our friendship in the process being Lovrina's sister and you two look out for each other."

"I will keep doing that," the youngest Summoner nodded, and then smiled, "And I'm happy for what you said to her at the Eidolon Wall... hope you keep her happy."

"I know I will after the epiphany I had at the same time I basically said a vow to Lovrina and your parents," I noted.

"That's so romantic..."

* * *

><p>(Invincible – Cockpit)<p>

Once everyone had gathered inside the Terran airship, it was time to head for Vile Island. It took only a half-hour to reach it and everyone was behind or in front of me, and everyone was staring at the Mist-covered Island.

"We have got to be cautious," Steiner said sternly. "Who knows what will happen once we face off against the Yans?"

"We'll be broken apart," Lani scoffed. "I'm telling ya, the stories I heard are no joke."

"But it does tell us that someone was able to come out of there alive," Freya stated. "How else is anyone to know about the Yans?"

"She's right," Amarant spoke up, "If anything, it's only called Vile Island because the Yans. It's not like a single person went there, being picked off by the Yans, and failed to reach any ears. Someone had to be with them and then turned tail and fled."

"That does seem to be the case," I figured as I tried to find a place to land.

"If we can learn how they fight, that will let us provide the strategy," Lovrina stated.

"And then we can beat them down," Eiko exclaimed.

"Kwwweehhh!" Choco nodded.

"But hopefully we can escape a fight," Dagger noted. "The king Yan might be angry with us and tell the others not to hold back."

"We just need to go down there and hope for the best," Zidane figured. "Best thing to do for now, and we can always retreat."

"Of course," Vivi added.

"Then no want to wait!" Quina exclaimed as she ran for the transporter.

"Uh oh, let's land this thing," I said as I was able to land near the water.

* * *

><p>(Vile Island)<p>

Using the teleporter, everyone had been brought down on the island and looked around. This was a giant forest area to be seen for miles, and it also had a big mountain stretched out to the sky. It reminded me of the tallest mountain on my planet.

Quina was up ahead, but waited for us before trying to use her sense of smell to lead herself around with the Mist and trees covering our sight a little bit.

"So, where can we find those Yans?" I wondered as I started to walk around the dead forest. "With a place that's wide as this, it won't have to be much to look for or hide."

"And they are small little guys, right?" Zidane asked. "They could be that hard to find..."

"And the sudden climate change could make them more hostile," Freya stated. "I would hate my land for it to turn out like this."

"Kweh..." Choco said sadly.

"It's okay Choco," Eiko replied, while she was riding on his back. "Garuda said they were tough... and they have every right to be angry about their home being the way it is."

"And we also need to worry about that King Yan," Dagger added.

We then suddenly heard a loud number of growls coming from the left of us.

"What was that?" Quina asked.

"I know that growl," Steiner gasped. "It's the same monsters Beatrix and I fought when Kuja attacked Alexandria!"

"What did they look like?" Lani asked.

"Giant, black worms of some sort..."

(Play Dominique Cross' Theme from the Bouncer)

"Mistodons!" I gasped, "Let's move it!" I then took off running with the others hot on my trail. We were then lead to the out of the forest and our vision was partially recovered, just in time to see a bunch of Mistodons, 16 to be exact, surrounding four small, pug-like monsters with a white body and a tan head with horns that curved upwards. All of them had angry looks on their faces, and I couldn't blame them. However, looking at the auras the tales about the Yans were no lie...

"That looks bad," Lovrina said.

"Yeah, for the Mistodons," I told her, "The Yans' auras are shooting through the roof!"

Half of the Mistodons charged up their magic and launched an effective and collective Fira spell, burning up the little monsters inside a fiery tornado. Then, we saw the other half spew white smoke from their mouths, which was easily recognized as Mist and surrounded the flames...

*KABOOM!*

The combined attacks resulted in a large explosion that made us duck for cover. I didn't have to do the actually math in knowing that all the magic had to be very damaging, no matter what level they were. Still, I had to check the auras of the monsters

"So much for that theory," Amarant stated. "They got torched."

"Amazing power," Freya said in awe.

"Luckily for us, they are easily killed," Steiner stated, about to draw his sword.

"Don't count on it," I warned them, causing them to be confused. "They're alive!"

I opened my eyes with everyone else also trying to look at ensuing damage. I immediately felt a threatening surge of magic coming from the fire tornado. I gasped as I turned behind me and saw a black hole appear from the sky. Then, numerous giant, burning boulders zoomed out of the hole and tore up four of the closest Mistodons into shreds.

"Whoa!" Everyone shouted, looking at the damage. The fiery tornado had disappeared and there they were... the four Yans were still alive and well. There were even no burn marks to show that they were even in that tornado.

Before we had time to say anything, the second Yan struck. It was strange, but it let out a large snort from its small nostrils. But surprisingly, I saw some kind of white shockwaves that caused the next four Mistodons to be launched to who knows on Gaia!

Next, the third one spread some purple and black powder on the eight remaining Mistodons. I recognized that as something that put a virus inside a host, and it caused them to cough, hack, and keep their mind off the battle.

But finally, the fourth one made its move. It charged up some magic and then let loose a monstrous Aera spell. It created a vortex of wind that cut apart the last eight Mistodons to ribbons.

I couldn't believe how much they did and it wasn't even a lot with the types of spells and attacks that did. The stories were definitely true if I didn't believe it all. Hell, I believed it all but never thought they would be this much with just four of them!

(End music)

"We didn't just see all that," Eiko gasped.

"Unfortunately, we did just see all of that," Lovrina added. "And if we don't approach this cautiously, we're going to end up like those Mistodons..."

"I think we should just get into the airship now..." Lani said.

"One of the rare times I'll agree with you," Amarant replied.

"But we're not," I spoke up.

Dagger gasped, "You're serious?"

"You got the emerald right?" I asked her.

"Yeah," She replied, taking out the glowing green jewel. "Oh! The Garuda did say we had to show it to them."

"Exactly," I told her and looked to everyone else. "You're just worried about the power and forgetting all we said about doing this without a fight. I'm just as scared as you all. All we have to do is show them the emerald and they'll take us to their King."

"Uh..." Vivi looked shaken up, "It may be harder than we thought..."

"Kweh..." Choco backed up in a frightened expression.

"What's the matter," I asked.

"Behind you," Amarant said as everyone got defensive.

I looked over my shoulder and then saw the same four Yans appear behind me, growling. "Oh crap..."

The Yans advanced slowly but menacingly as I started to back up towards the others.

"You were saying," Lani muttered.

"It looks as though we have to fight," Freya said, "No matter what the cost..."

Still, I tried to reason with the little pug-like monsters by showing them the emerald. "Hey, we need to speak with your king. The Garuda we met with..."

However, one of them decided to headbutt at my hand and nearly knocked the stone out of it. I was left holding my hand in pain, rubbing it. "Hey, we come in peace here!"

Another one decided to charge at me again, but I quickly backed away from it. Soon, the other three continued their menacing growls and even barked. I then heard Eiko and Lovrina gasp.

"They're saying they want us to leave," Eiko translated.

"And that no one will see their king," Lovrina added on. "Otherwise, they'll do to us what they did to the Mistodons."

"Damn, we were so close!" Zidane shouted. "Ozma's our best bet in getting inside that portal above the Iifa Tree!"

Then, there was more barking coming from all around us. Once we looked, there were numerous more Yans that was horrifying.

"Oh damn..." Amarant growled.

"Once they heard Ozma, it was the last straw," Eiko said, "Because I just heard a big 'no' from them all."

"They said that Ozma should not be freed," Lovrina noted. "It would bring destruction to the world once more."

"But we're facing inevitable destruction by allowing Kuja to stay ahead," Steiner stated, "We have no choice..."

"But there's no reasoning with them," Dagger said.

"We may be cooked," Quina muttered worriedly.

I then felt magic charging from the Yans, who all have their angry eyes still fixated on us.

"This may be it," I grumbled, "Looks like we have to fight."

"Then we better hit fast!" Amarant shouted as he charged up his powers as well.

Suddenly...

"STOP!"

"Huh?" We all gasped and to our surprised, the spike of magic charging had stopped as well. Everyone started look around for the source of the voice. I recognized it as the voice of a child, yet it had the authority of an adult which got the very hostile Yans to stop.

"They wish to see me, and they will have it!" The voice called out. "They are no threat to us!"

Soon, the Yans started to part ways and then let something else pass while bowing. We saw another Yan walk down, but we noticed that this one had a bronze colored body with a black head and horns that curved downwards.

'_So this is the final friendly monster...'_ I thought to myself as the Yan walked up to me.

"We have much to discuss..." It said, its eyes burning with resolve.

* * *

><p>And this will be the ending point for now, and the next chapter is where it all goes down. And if you noticed one scene, I will say this... I did go there...<p>

Next time: The gang speaks with the Yan King (Scene of the gang sitting down on the grass as the Yan King speaks)

He shows us the way to Ozma's resting place (Scene of a floating garden with clouds and ground)

But are we really ready to take on something that an entire generation's worth of Summoners had trouble in sealing in it? (Scene of a large shadow looming over the garden, while everyone looks up in shock)

Next Chapter: Superboss! They Call It 'Ozma!'

Please Read and Review! Later!


	5. CH 60: Superboss! They Called It 'Ozma'

****Duelist of Dawn: It's done! It's done! It's finally done! Ladies and Gentlemen, the fight against the Superboss Ozma!

*Audience Cheers*

Duelist of Dawn: Well, I got no one else here with me; they are about to fight to good fight so they need all the energy they can get so, it's Disclaimer time!

Disclaimer: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his SI Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

Duelist of Dawn: And now, the feature presentation! Hope it kicks ass! *Pulls out a bucket of popcorn and starts munching*

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 60<strong>

**Superboss! They Call It 'Ozma'!**

* * *

><p>(Vile Island) (Ron's POV)<p>

We were so damn lucky that the Yan King came when he did... the gang and I just got done seeing four Yans lay waste to three times their number and they were about to do the same with us along with a number of their friends. I showed them the emerald and it didn't change, so I knew the Jabberwock's book was going to get the same result if not worse.

Right now, we all went to a certain part of the forest nearest the giant mountain. We were sitting beside many of the Yans, some who were still giving us the stink eye for just being here. Standing atop a tree stump was the friendly Yan in question. All of us looked to him as he began to speak...

"So," He began, "You guys wish to defeat Ozma?"

"It's why we came here," I replied to him. The King had laughed a little, shaking his head which confused me. "What's so funny?"

"It's been awhile since someone decided to do something so crazy like that." He replied and looked me straight into my eyes, "You do realize that monster is beyond all-powerful. I even suspect us Yans would have a hard time defeating it."

"We have our reasons," Dagger spoke up. "I'm sure you're wondering how this Mist came to envelop your island, causing your brethren's fighting instincts to climb and the monsters it spawns."

"There's a guy that using the Iifa Tree on the Outer Continent to spread the Mist all over Gaia," Zidane added. "Soon, the whole world will be destroyed because Kuja believes that all other life doesn't deserve to exist without him."

The Yan King raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"You don't believe us?" Freya asked.

He then looked to the Burmecian Knight and narrowed his eyes, "If Ozma is unleashed from its prison it may very well destroy the world itself. Surely, even one of you knows about the destruction it once tried to warrant..."

"You know, don't you Lovrina?" Eiko asked her sister.

"All I know is what I've said before," the ninja/summoner replied, "It took an entire village worth of Summoners to seal it, and then represents good and evil, as well as light and darkness. Specifically, everything..."

"Then allow me to fill in the blanks," the Yan King spoke up, as all of us sat with attentive ears. "Feel free to ask your questions..." He then cleared his throat. "Like your friend said, Summoners did seal Ozma. They had a civilization known as Ayershia, a giant island. It once flourished on this very world, back when all the continents were one and that island stood by its lonesome. The Summoners weren't called Summoners then... They had the power to summon the creatures you call Eidolons and also manipulated all types of magic freely."

"So they could use Black, Blue, and White Magic?" Vivi asked.

"Yes," the Yan King nodded. "The first humans of Gaia... Back then, the Ayershian master magic users were seeking to create the ultimate life form, began their research."

"Why build something that's an ultimate life form?" Lani asked.

"To create life anew and to place history into the hands of their own," the animal replied. "After years of hard work, building sacrifice upon sacrifice, they created an artificial being in the form of a young child... they called 'it' Ozma, the first Eidolon..." We all started to look at each other in shock. "That being possessed magic more powerful than that of anyone else, and they called it the perfect immortal life form, basing it upon the elements of the modern world and became its representation..."

'_That's new,'_ I thought, _'No Water, Fire, Earth, or Air? Weird...'_

"The magic wielders were delighted, called it a 'God', and celebrated its creation." The Yan King continued, but then looked sorrowful, "But it wasn't completely perfect...it had no soul... It couldn't feel the sorrows and pains of the people. It didn't feel anything when people were hurt. Even when someone died, it couldn't comprehend the dead body."

"How sad..." Steiner said in sympathy, "They could not teach Ozma to learn about the loss and pain of death?"

"They wouldn't after the last action it had done," the King said, looking angry now. "When their 'God' unwittingly and innocently destroyed the town, the magic users realized for the first time the magnitude of what they'd created... a complete monster..."

"Damn..." I gasped.

"That no good," Quina added.

"And so, in order to make their immortal creation more mature, they had to imprison it eternally in a cell outside space and time." The Yan stated. "It was called the 'Eidolon Cave.' This where it is at now..."

"Wow, so Ozma is just a kid?" Vivi wondered.

"Surprising news," Amarant scoffed, "An unruly brat has the power to do us all in."

"Certainly needs more than a good spanking," Lani chuckled.

"After trapping Ozma inside the Eidolon Cave, the people of Ayershia left a few people to guard it, and then the rest of them left the island." The Yan King stated. "Those who went to the continent mingled with the people of Sorcia, the name of the intercontinental land... as many years passed, their names changed and they forgot their long history..."

"But it wasn't to last," Lovrina figured.

"Exactly," the Yan nodded, "It happened 500 years ago to be exact..."

Lovrina gasped, "That's when Alexander's summoning experiment failed!"

"Correct, because the numerous descendants of the Sorcians returned to the island..." the King said. "But not because of more experiments, it was because they were at war with a kingdom called Aldine. The kingdom learned about the warped information of the Eidolon Cave Ozma was held, was in fact a place holding the power of immortality. The people of Sorcia returned, along with others native to that continent, seeking the legend as well, believing that the Cave of Immortality held sealed a God that would save them..."

"Wow, they really have forgotten their heritage then," Eiko figured. "The descendants knew nothing about what is really on that island."

The Yan nodded, "They overcame the descendants of the watchers and somehow opened the cell to Ozma."

"Oh no..." Vivi whispered.

"Waking to a new age, a half-interested and still immature Ozma granted the Sorcians the power they needed to fight the army of Aldine by turning them into creatures... the newest Eidolons."

The Summoner girls all gasped horribly, learning that their friends are actually more descendants of their clan.

"And so the overpowering magical forces cursed the entire island and the Eidolons were then placed into another realm called the Feymarch..." The Yan stated. "...because this immortal Ozma is still not ready, it can't distinguish between right and wrong... "

'_The history pages sure have missed a lot!'_ I thought in shock. _'This wasn't in the game...'_

"The watchers somehow managed to return the Eidolon Cave to its original form, and once again sealed Ozma to its eternal prison." The Yan stated. "And to make sure it was never freed again; the majority of the island was broken apart and placed into the skies, where it now roams." He then stepped off the stump and continued with, "And I, along with the other eight friendly animals you encountered, we are the watchers cursed by Ozma."

We all gasped at the sudden confession. It would make sense for the nine of them to have the power to have Ozma downsized but they were also cursed by him as well.

"Now do you see why we should leave Ozma alone?" the Yan King stated. "Once it's unlocked, it will just run rampant across the world and do as it pleases without any remorse."

"But the whole world is doomed if we do nothing," I told him. "We wouldn't be here, risking being attacked by your brethren, trying to come and see you, hoping you would lead us to Ozma. If we can beat Ozma, we can unlock the way to destroy the real threat to the world."

"And do you really know if defeating Ozma will get you to what you all want?" the King Yan spoke out.

"Positive," I nodded and then developed a stern look on my face, "It's the only being that's strong enough to keep us from going anywhere... I'll admit I was unsure at the time, but I can tell you this: you sit by and do nothing, everything is going to be gone and that is something I know and it will come true. It won't be because of Ozma then, it'll be because of our own whiny, little brat can't take being a mortal and that millions will live and forget about him! And the worst of it all is that he can feel, but doesn't want to give in to those feelings! So, this time I'm not asking you, I'm telling you: lead us to where the Eidolon Cave is so we can defeat Ozma and save the world!"

I can tell that everyone was shocked at what I just said, and that got the Yans on edge as well. I could see two of them walking towards me, growling. As scared as I was of being pummeled by something I know has that power... this world being destroyed like Terra is more terrifying as it means the end of us all for sure.

But then soon, I saw Zidane and Lovrina stand by my side and both facing the Yans that were threatening me. I gave them a silent thank you as I continued to glare at the King.

The King sighed, "You would free an immortal that cannot die and think you can defeat it…"

"Know..." I corrected.

I can tell he saw my mind was made up, and that I had trustworthy friends by my side just in case I was made to be proven wrong.

The King Yan narrowed his eyes, "Yans... let them pass..." The many pug-like monsters gasped as they looked to their king. "These creatures are not like others... they would have tried to fight us if it meant their own safety, but they care for all on this world... care of us as well. They know the risks; if they believe... know they can quell Ozma's childish antics and make it mature... then we have nothing to fear."

I smiled and bowed to the king, "Thank you..."

"Let me have the Emerald and Jabberwock's lexicon..." He replied, which I took out and laid them on the stump next to him. "I will accompany you in order to make it easier for you to defeat Ozma."

"Easier?" Amarant asked.

"Those who use physical attacks would not be able to reach it," the King Yan stated. "I can make sure that this is possible for all of you to attack. So, if you're ready, you can follow me up the mountain to the place where Ozma is imprisoned."

He then absorbed the Emerald into his body, enveloped in a green glow, and then took the Jabberwock's lexicon in his mouth and hopped off the stump while heading off to the mountain behind him. While he done so, I released one of my dreaded sighs of relief while majority of the others followed after him.

"Smooth move, Ron," Zidane said, patting me on the back. "Didn't know you had it in yourself to stand up to someone stronger than all of us put together..."

"That came from the heart, bro," I told him, "I said we had to do all of these things on the side to reach Kuja, and I stand by it. Ozma has to be the one that unlocks the way."

"And there's still the matter of finding Choco's homeland and fixing the moogle's mailing system." Lovrina reminded me. "Even when we defeat Ozma, I think we should be obligated to finish those matters first."

"Right," I nodded to her. "Meaning, Choco definitely needs to survive in order to see it. Without anyone to translate and all the stuff we did to make him stronger, he's ready to see where he wants to live for the rest of his life."

"Then let's not keep him or the others waiting," the Genome said as he ran after the others. Lovrina and I looked to each other with smiles on our faces before chasing after Zidane.

Soon, we reached everyone else near the base of the mountain. Once the Yan acknowledged everyone in his presence...

"Alright, prepare yourself as I transport us to the sacred Eidolon Cave," He announced as he turned to the mountain and then rammed its head into the base. The sight of it would have made me flinch at his sudden pain, but I knew he'd be fine. After the impact, I saw a giant part of the mountain push in and then started to slide slowly to the right. We could see a blinding light appear from behind the makeshift door. Once the light got bigger, everyone including myself had to cover our eyes to avoid being blinded. Pretty soon, our world when pitch white...

* * *

><p>(Unknown Plain)<p>

Even though I had my eyes clothes, I felt a cool breeze blowing past my face and felt that I was lying on my back on something soft. Curious, I began to open my eyes and I was greeted with clear, blue skies.

"This must be above the Mist," I said to myself. "Now let's see where everyone else is at..." That's when I looked down and noticed that something soft I was lying on was fluffy, white clouds. "Wow, if this wasn't already strange, I would have freaked out for just noticing that clouds shouldn't hold people up normally." I shrugged as I got up to my feet. I then took the chance to look around and observe my surroundings...

I could see miles of fluffy clouds floating around, making a sort of ocean to put it lightly. But I was able to see some land on my right. If the clouds were the ocean, then the island would be that land which was very small compared to real ones. And as luck would hold it, everyone including the Yan was on that giant piece of land still unconscious from that blinding light. I started to make a break towards the land, but found myself bouncing on them instead when I took my first step.

"Whoa!" I shouted as was suddenly launched a couple of feet into the air before coming back down and repeating the process while moving forward. "Okay, that freaked me out!" Still, I had to get it together and wake up the other guys. I saw something that looked like stairs and proceeded over there. After several more bounces, I landed on the ground in a kneeling stance and happy that the ride was over. I looked back to the clouds and said, "At least I know what happens if I stand on those clouds..."

I then ran over to the closest person, which was Lovrina of course. Kneeling next to her, I gently took her in my arms and shook her a bit. "Lovrina, wake up..." I said to her, trying to get her to awaken. Pretty soon, she opened her eyes and saw me smile at her. "Rise and shine..."

She gave a tired smile back, "Hey... are we here?"

"Yup," I said, looking around and saw another piece of land with a strange rock on it. "The little guy did his thing and got us where the Eidolon Cave is at. Though we need to get everyone up here and prepare ourselves..."

"Yeah, let's get them up now," Lovrina replied as I helped her up and we soon got to everyone and woke them up.

A few minutes later, everyone was standing up and stretching out their limbs. The Yan walked up to me and spoke up.

"Alright, we are here..." He said as he gestured to the entire place. "This is the air garden where the nine of us had to separate the Eidolon Cave from the rest of the world, in order to make sure Ozma was not reached."

"I see," I said. I actually remembered this to be the Chocobo's Air Garden, where Choco treasure hunts for Chocographs. But enough about that, I looked to the Yan, and pointed at the strange rock. "Is that where he is?"

The Yan King narrowed his eyes at the rock, "Yeah, that's it... I've actually been here to talk with Ozma..."

Everyone gasped, "Really?"

"Really... though it is difficult to get through to this Eidolon that life is precious. It even thinks that life is easily replaced during our last talk." The Yan sighed, "I kept telling him that even when a new life is born to 'replace' the one that had died, it is not the same. The ones affected by that loss are still feeling pain... suffering that one of their own is not with them. It even says that having a heart makes one unstable and that it is pointless."

"That's terrible," Dagger said somberly.

"You say this Eidolon is a kid," Eiko added, "I said a spoiled one! And then he caused destruction back when he was freed?"

"Ozma spoiled like rotten eggs," Quina thought out loud.

"And that's the real reason I actually want to keep Ozma alive," the Yan stated, "To make it understand life and the world. This world is not a game..."

"How right you are," Zidane nodded. "And if this thing is tough to beat, we could probably weaken it enough to show it what's what."

"Still, it's easier said than done," Amarant figured.

"Just don't worry about tough Ozma is and just fight," Lani interjected. "We just have to beat Ozma together... it's stupid and suicide for just one of us."

"And once we beat Ozma, we can get to Kuja and save this world," Vivi added, adjusting his hat.

"We can also visit Choco's future homeworld, yes?" Freya asked. Choco nodded with glee.

"We are ready whenever you wish," Steiner said to the Yan.

"I'd say the sooner the better," Lovrina added. "Learn Ozma's tactics and take advantage."

"Just get ready everybody," I spoke up, "Ozma could be more powerful than Kuja." I then looked to the Yan King. "Go ahead and do your thing..."

"Right," the Yan King nodded as he made his way towards the strange looking rock.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV)<p>

Once the Yan King took off, he only made one leap into the clouds to provide a high enough bounce to get him on the next piece of land. He then ran up to the strange rock; a small, mountain-shaped stone that was completely covered in moss from years of isolation. It even had a faint aura around it. The Yan took note of the 'Eidolon Cave' with much thought, glaring at it. He remembered how it turned his surviving brethren into forms they currently took: Mu, Ghost, Ladybug, Yeti, Nymph, Jabberwock, Feather Circle, Garuda, and Yan. All of them were able to seal in Ozma, but not before it performed the last joke on humanity by turning the last nine survivors into animals and/or monsters. Still, the nine of them were able to adapt on different continents and islands, falling in with others like themselves and feeling content.

However, it was the Yan who wanted vengeance on Ozma for being the way he was. So for years, he had trained the other Yan to become powerful monsters and unlocked tremendous potential that was nearly unlimited. Anything that came across their island unannounced, were taken down in a matter of minutes… seconds if they were working in groups. However, the other eight wanted Ozma to learn about suffering and pain of others. But for so long, nothing got through to the Eidolon and was subjected to a mocking torment that nearly caused him to bring his Yan army together, free Ozma, and then teach it a lesson in humility it would never forgot and tell him who is the superior one.

Now he has 12 others who wish to do the same thing and thought they would never be able to defeat the Eidolon, even with the Summoners', his descendants' help. But one of them stood up with a large resolve that refused to give up and even stood up to him and his brethren despite how easily he would fall to an entire island's worth of power. He could not help but give in and show him and his friends the way.

He then turned to the 'Eidolon Cave' and said to himself, "Let's hope you succeed..." He then started glowing white and sent a flash into the 'Eidolon Cave', causing the same glow. "Ozma... the time has come for you to be freed... and be punished!"

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

I felt that power spike up when I saw that Eidolon Cave and the Yan King erupted with white auras. I had to shudder a bit as the power came out too quickly than I was used to. However, that shudder was loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"You okay," Lovrina asked me.

"He's coming…" I told her. "Ozma's coming... and he is plenty powerful like they say..."

"Not going to back down, are ya," Lani teased.

"Hell no," I retorted as I readied my Cestus, "This is just a warm-up for pounding some sense into Kuja... by doing the same to someone more stubborn than he is..."

"Then you know I got to get my hands dirty," Zidane smirked as he prepared his daggers, "After all, Kuja is my brother..."

I nodded back as everyone got into a defensive position.

(Play Powerbroker from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time)

The skies darkened and then I saw a bright portal open up. From it, came a large object that was spherical in shape and could have been a size equal to half the size of a small moon. Looking at it, I can tell why they say this Eidolon had taken on many forms, because on the surface was just a jumble of colors, which was the only way to describe it. The top half had lighter colors with a white background and the bottom half was dark colored with a black background. Case in point, it was just a swirling mass of energy. Everyone now had come face to face with Ozma.

The Yan set out another flash from its horns, engulfing Ozma in its entirety. He turned to us and said, "Now you can hit it with everything you have!" He then disappeared in a flash, possibly heading back to Vile Island.

"No need to tell me twice!" Zidane grinned as he twirled his daggers around.

In an instant, Ozma started to build up magic from its bottom half and turned accordingly on that same half. Suddenly, a giant black smoke erupted in front of us and created something that shocked us all. There were twelve people in tattered white hooded robes with brown cloaks over it. All of them held a long, deadly scythe made of dark bone. The shocking part was that each of them was skeletons in their own right, reminding me of the Grim Reaper's identity. I gasped as I realized what spell that Ozma cast on us...

"It's Death!" I shouted to everyone.

That was when the twelve Grim Reapers charged right at us and swung their scythes. All of us dodged one way or another by jumping, rolling, flying, and flipping away from the blades and were forced to separate in twos with two Grim Reapers tailing us.

Once I thought got a good distance, I had my back towards Freya and caught a glimpse of her as I said, "Well, this is familiar..."

"Yes, the Festival of the Hunt," Freya stated, "Where we first fought together..." She then got tense, "But here they come!"

I turned around to face my Grim Reaper... only to find that it was already on top of me, ready to slash me again. Freaking out, I rolled out the way and then hit it with a leg sweep making it fall on its back. I got to my feet and watched as the Reaper got back up as well. "Not again... Thunder Blades," My arms charged up with electricity, creating the blades. Once the Reaper came at me again, I decided to charge right back and we began a clash of the blades. Strike for strike, we matched hits but having two blades to its one made an advantage as I caught the scythe blade between mine. When I did that, I stuck the scythe into the ground and kicked reaper in the head. Finally, I hacked and slashed the body as much as I could which cut reaper and left it lying on the ground.

Freya on the other hand was already in the midst of fighting her Grim Reaper. Her speed was keeping up with blocking the scythe blow for blow, making sure none did hit her. However, I did notice she was able to get an opening as she rammed into monster's stomach and raised her lance, "Lancer!" She swung the lance, surrounding it with dragon spirits, and struck the Reaper's chest while the spirits tackled it one by one until it was left in the air. Afterwards, Freya leapt into the skies after it and knocked the scythe out of the Grim Reaper's hands and then stuck her lance into the body, and made a hard impact once they hit the ground with the Burmecian Knight on top.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV)<p>

Having another clash of the blades was Steiner and Vivi with their reapers, locked in fierce combat. The Alexandrian Knight's Excalibur was able to match the Reaper's scythe with ease, but still wasn't able to strike at the body. The other Reaper tried to hit Steiner's blind spot...

"Firaga!"

The Black Mage struck as he pointed his staff at the oncoming Reaper, blasting it with intense flames that shot it back while Steiner was able to push back his own Reaper and leveled it with a punch to gain some breathing room. Vivi ran to Steiner.

"Are you okay?" the Black Mage asked.

"Damn, this will not be enough to strike them like this," the Alexandrian Knight grumbled. "I will need your assistance and your Black Magic to vanquish them. Since they are undead, Fire would be best to use against such foes."

"I'll be ready," Vivi nodded as he prepared to focus his energy into his staff. Soon, both Reapers got up from their attacks and hissed as they picked up their respective scythes and stared down their two foes. "Here they come..."

"Just focus..." Steiner reminded him as he prepared his sword to absorb the magic. "And do not worry about harming me as well; Excalibur is strong..." The Grim Reapers gave an inhuman yell as they charged right for the Knight and Black Mage, preparing to cut off the heads of their enemies. Once they got close enough... "NOW!"

"Firaga!" Vivi shouted as he spread the magical aura around Steiner's blade, giving it a brilliant shine and sparkle. He watched as the Alexandrian Knight charge right back and meet the Reapers halfway. And then he gave a powerful slash to the both of them while they clashed with the scythes. However the flames erupted from the scythes and spread to the wielders, engulfing them in a burning, unforgiving tornado of fire.

Steiner raised his sword once more, charging up for one of his own attacks, "Stock Break!" He then slashed into the tornado, sending an orange shockwave inside to make a big explosion which knocked himself back towards Vivi while blowing up the Grim Reapers to ashes. Luckily for the knight, he was able to stand on his two feet even being blown by the explosion's aftershock. "That takes care of that..." He said as Vivi nodded back to him.

Amarant and Lani were handling their two Reapers well, ducking and dodging the scythes as best they could. The latter was doing all she could to move and strike a blow with her axe, but none ever hit. Her partner wasn't doing any better as the moment where he wanted to strike he had to dodge at that same instant. Grumbling, the bounty hunters stepped back to get some room but were still being tailed.

"Damn, these things are fast!" Lani shouted as she blocked a strike with her axe. "How in the Hell are we going to hit them back?"

"It's tough," Amarant stated as he kept moving his head out of the way of the scythe to avoid the beheading, "Every time we make a move they're on top of us at that very moment. Meaning we need to hit them while they are attacking."

"But they're too fast for that..." the bounty huntress reiterated, blocking and dodging more hits.

"Just get ready to move," her partner spoke back.

Once the Reapers began the swing, Amarant pushed away Lani from hers and the Grim Reapers missed. The bounty hunter saw their chance and swung their respective weapons at the same moment they moved and knocked the scythes out of the Reapers' hands. Lani saw her chance to charge her magic...

"Water!" She shouted as she slammed her axe to the ground, engulfing the twin Reapers inside and letting it crush them with the pressure. Amarant then gathered his power together...

"Demi Shock!" He shouted, pointing his claws at the Water Spell and emitted dark lightning that zapped and then created the Spell Demi around the water, adding more to the pressure and even shocking the twin Reapers out of their undead bodies. "Lani, finish it!"

"Blizzara!" Lani quickly casted her strong ice spell encasing the Reapers in a giant ice crystal. She then raced towards them and started hacking and slashing them into shattered pieces. Looking over the remains, Lani smirked. "Damn, we are good!"

"Don't celebrate just yet," Amarant interjected, "That was just the opening act..." He then looked to Ozma, "We still got the biggest problem so far..."

Another part of the island had Quina, Choco, and Zidane fighting for their lives against three Grim Reapers. Quina had already cast Mighty Guard to strengthen their defenses and Choco took to the skies to evade while Zidane kept up his quick agility to dodge the scythes. Being already a united front since the Earth Shrine, these three knew how to cover each other well especially against the undead enemy...

Zidane ran in and drew in the attention of the Reapers being quicker than his partners. He managed to cut into them a bit with his daggers as he passed them by and continued the process, keeping them confused and out of trouble for himself.

"Vanish!" Quina announced as she cast her magic upon Zidane, making him invisible to the naked eye, and then she cast it on herself to make sure she was not targeted, "Frog Drop!" She then summoned her large green frog to belly flop on all three of the Grim Reapers, pinning them to the ground.

"KWWEEEEHHH!" Once the Genome and the giant frog were getting the Reapers all pinned down, Choco decided to start flapping his wings rapidly and caused the undersides of both to glow bright red. He then fired his Choco Meteor attack, raining burning meteors all over the field. Zidane got out of the way and the giant frog vanished into thin air before the meteors impacted and bombarded the fallen Reapers, burning them to ashes.

"Yeah!" Zidane cheered. "These undeads got nothing on us!"

"But still... Ozma..." Quina pointed out.

"Kweeeh," Choco added as he flew down toward the others.

"Yeah, let's regroup and..."

"KWWWEEHH!"

"AIYA!"

Zidane gasped as he, Choco, and Quina now found themselves with more Grim Reapers to fight... courtesy of Ozma creating another batch...

"Damn..." the Genome growled as he got ready to fight...

The Summoner Girls were not faring so far as Lovrina was doing most of the defending. Having already defeated their previous three Grim Reapers, she had to create multiple clones of herself to protect Eiko and Dagger, trying to give them time to summon any Eidolons to retaliate against the newly created army. But once she created them, they were blindsided the next with quick, successive slashes from the Grim Reapers. The Ninja/Summoner had felt the pain from each clone destroyed and even felt the fatigue from creating the clones herself.

"Curaga!" Dagger announced, casting her White Magic over her fellow Summoner, healing her with multiple strands of light blue and sparkles. Lovrina was just in time to create another clone that blocked the three scythes with her sword. Afterwards, even the clone knew when to get out of dodge when her defense gave and escaped the next slashes. "This is getting too much for us... we have the magic left, but we need to conserve it..."

"What are we going to do?" Eiko wondered worriedly. "The moment we try to call for the Eidolons, these guys try to jump on us." She looked to her big sister, "Not to mention they keep taking down every defense you try to create for us."

"It would be better if we could be faster than they are..." Lovrina stated. "Eiko, can you use Haste on us all?"

"I was actually trying that instead of bringing out the Eidolons," the youngest Summoner replied. "And then you already saw how Dagger and I tried to use any healing magic on them; it didn't work!"

"We need to get away from them..." Dagger sighed, "But how...?"

Hearing that Lovrina smirked at the Grim Reapers and then did her process of creating her string of hand signs, _'It's going to be a long shot if I have the chakra left to do what needs to be done...'_ She then finished the last one and shouted, "Multi-Clone Jutsu!"

Soon many of Lovrina's doppelgangers appeared in front of the original and the other two Summoners. The Grim Reapers weren't even shocked at the massive numbers that counted up to 50 in all. They just began the process of attacking them, cutting down a good number with each swing while the clones were trying to do their best in using their numbers to hit the Grim Reapers as best they could do. However someone had other plans...

"Transformation!"

A giant puff of smoke erupted from behind the clones and then the Reapers were seeing a large bird flying up into the air, carrying Dagger and Eiko on the back. Once they got a good distance...

"Eiko, Dagger, now's your chance," Lovrina shouted from the bird's mind.

"Haste!" Eiko shouted as she raised her flute, creating an orange light that surrounded herself, Dagger, and Lovrina, "Dagger!"

Dagger focused her energy and began to call on her Eidolon...

"_Binding magic, crush my foes with your power! Rise, Atomos!"_

A purple wisp of smoke erupted from the clouds and formed into a huge monster of the same color. It looked like a large gate, which was its mouth, barely missing the small eyes on top and the inside of the gate had three giant rows of teeth.

"Everyone, come here!" Dagger shouted, grabbing everyone's attention as Lovrina descended towards the ground.

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

Freya and I heard Dagger's warning and then made a break for the giant bird while dodging the other Grim Reapers that tried to cut us off. We both knocked over the ones that mattered while continuing to run for the Summoner Girls.

I then noticed everyone else heading for the girls as well and hitting anyone that had to, but at the same time the Reapers caught wind of our plan and tried to cut them off instead.

"Damn, they know what's up!" I shouted to Freya.

"Which means we need to stop them..." the Burmecian Knight replied, "Just hang on..."

"Wait, shoot me up in the air first and follow after me," I told her. "I'm going to hit them with my Air Stomp Drill..."

"Ah, good thinking," She said as she held up her lance. "Now get moving!"

In one quick succession, Freya shot her lance in front of me right when I jumped up and then launched me high into the air. Seconds later, I saw Freya reach the same altitude. We nodded as I extended my right leg downward and she did the same for her lance and put it with my foot and held on to me as we began to descend.

"Air Stomp Drill," I shouted as we began to spin, picking up the air around us and picking up speed. I saw the others leap for Lovrina's Transformed Bird State and the Grim Reapers' scythes reach for her. At that moment, my foot and Freya's lance struck the ground and sent massive wind sickles across the ground which blew away the Reapers away from everyone else and had them crashing into the ground. Impressed with our work, the Burmecian Knight and I joined the others and Lovrina took to the skies.

Dagger turned to the massive, purple Eidolon and shouted, "Atomos, eradicate them all!"

Hearing its mistress' command, the Eidolon roared loudly and caused a massive ball of black energy to shoot out of its mouth and over the army of Grim Reapers. It started the process of sucking them right inside orb. But this time, Atomos did not have the gravity energy implode on itself and instead the Eidolon absorbed the ball and swallowed it whole before being dismissed by its Mistress.

"Yeah, we got them all!" Zidane cheered. "That will teach Ozma to send those bastards after us!"

(Change Music: Fighting Fate from Final Fantasy XIII)

Suddenly, I felt a power surge out and immediately looked towards Ozma...

It was spinning around on its dark-colored half while glowing black.

"He's about to teach us all for messing with those bastards..." I said in fear of the power that it was letting out.

"Mighty Guard," Quina shouted, having the foresight to envelop us in a collective spell of Shell and Protect.

Next thing we saw was the dark half casting the Holy Spell, sending a white energy stream towards Lovrina and hit her underneath despite the Shell to suppress it, making her scream out in pain, disabling her transformation into her present form, and knocked the rest of us into the air and towards the ground. All of us had joined in the screaming but it did not last as we all were dropped safely into the clouds, softening our impact. However when I saw Lovrina drop in, I still went over to her as she was the only one hit. "You alright," I asked worried for her safety.

"I'm... fine..." She strained to say, holding on to her stomach. "So strong..."

"Guys, I need some help for her!" I shouted. Immediately, Eiko had shot up from her spot and came to her big sister's aid. I then bounced away from them, planning to attack the Eidolon and getting it away from them with also being angry with my girlfriend getting hurt by the big thing. "Okay, Ozma... have a taste of my Aura..." I growled as I heightened my inner power and then focused it into a bowling ball-shaped sphere and shouted, "Aura Sphere!"

I fired the sphere straight center of Ozma, scoring a direct hit which made it push back a bit. But I noticed it wasn't turning towards me or if I could see it in pain due its lack of facial expressions. All I noticed was that it spun around on its dark side again. It fired a burning sphere back which I noticed was a Flare Spell. I bounced out of the way and stood on one of the small islands and saw the Flare make a hole in the clouds where I just was.

"Aura Sphere," I launched another attack at Ozma, once again hitting it dead center and achieving the same result. I sensed the magic rising from Ozma immediately after getting hit, but then I noticed the top half spinning next which confused me. "Huh?" I then saw the familiar strands of white and sparkles, recognizing the Curaga Spell and gasped as it enveloped him and healed whatever damage I done. "Damn..."

"Ron!"

I turned to see Zidane, Lani, and Steiner jump on top of the island next and ran over to me.

"We saw you hitting Ozma with some attacks and then everyone else told us to help you out," Zidane asked. "Any luck?"

I shook my head, "Whatever I did, it just healed itself... All I know is as soon as we attack, it does whatever..." I gasped and saw Ozma spinning on its dark half once more. "Or if we don't make a move at all..."

Suddenly, I noticed numerous Flare Spells surround us all which I noticed from Kuja's signature Spell... the Flare Star attack! Unfortunately, we all couldn't get away in time as we were all bombarded by the collective power and blasted into the ground.

"Dammit..." Zidane shouted as he got up to his feet with all of us following along. "That was hard..."

"No shit..." I stated as we stared down the Eidolon.

"Cura..." I heard Lani say and then felt her palm on my back and saw her do the same to Zidane. Her version of the White Magic spell was something like what Amarant did, which I remembered this from the Fire Shrine as small tendrils of light extended from his fingers and then healed the both of us. She quickly ran over to Steiner and did the same.

"Thank you," Steiner nodded, "But now, we shall vanquish this enemy..."

"We need to hit him hard and fast then..." I stated.

"Then let's do it already..." the Bounty Huntress shouted as she charged up energy in the palms of his hands and into her giant axe. Steiner charged up his sword while I charged up my hands. But then I noticed Zidane pull out something in his pockets, something I did not recognize he had with him...

"Let's go!" I shouted, "Aura Sphere!"

"Big Bang!" Lani shouted.

"Shock!" Steiner shouted.

"Thievery!" Zidane added.

First, I let loose my third sphere and it was quickly followed by Lani's newly revealed spell of a glowing red orb and both hit Ozma in its top half, making it tilt backwards and showing more of the bottom. But I saw Lani's Spell had increased into a dome of red that surrounded the giant Eidolon. Steiner let loose his Shock skill and blasted it into the middle part, making it tilt more. Then Zidane threw out a golden tool of some sort which soon expanded into a large treasure chest.

*KABOOM!*

It then erupted into a mountainous explosion that added on to the damage that was already done to the Eidolon. All three of them looked pleased at what they had done, yet I knew better... Ozma wasn't just going to lay down after only the four of us did...

"Don't celebrate just yet, guys," I warned them as I kept up my guard. "Don't forget all that we heard about Ozma; it's not over yet..."

On cue, I felt another burst of energy erupting from the explosion which alerted the others in getting their guard up when the smoke had settled in...

But then there was a green blast that zoomed from the smoke so quickly that it nailed all of us in the chest and knocked us into the ground. I had to clutch mine in knowing the severe pain was both external and internal. I looked to the others and saw Zidane as he looked like the wind was knocked out of him. Steiner didn't look too much in pain at first glance because of his armor, but he was left leaning on his sword. However I saw Lani in the same state as me, only she was standing up proud whereas I was on the ground like Zidane. However, the point of it all was that we are into a Trance state.

Lani now looked like she was wearing a crimson red battle dress and her hat was gone and replaced with a face mask of the same color. But then I saw that her axe had transformed into a double-breasted axe, which she had leaning on its point.

Seeing me looking back, she tossed me an elixir and I downed the contents, letting me get up quickly.

"Remind me not to question you again," Lani smirked.

"It's tough for a reason," I stated. "It's not going to just take hits and then lay down... by the way, nice look."

"Well if it keeps counterattacking everything we do, but with a greater force, how can we win?" the Bounty Huntress asked, "Maybe there is something else that needs to be done and we just chose the wrong way..."

"No," I retorted. "Ozma power can surpass Kuja's and I know Kuja wouldn't just block our way... he likes to deal with the problem while being so close to solving it. I know Ozma's behind this, even if being sealed inside a rock. And now we have a better chance since we've Tranced."

"Heads up, guys," Zidane shouted as he got back up.

I looked to Ozma and saw it spinning around on its dark half once more. It was then I saw something red flashing in our direction; another Flare attack was on the way. However, I was still stunned after what Ozma pulled the last time and saw that the others were having hard time getting it together as well. This time I knew we weren't going to dodge the Spell and prepared to brace for impact...

"Mega Flare!"

When I heard those words from Dagger, I let out a big sigh of relief as the white beam came from the sky and hit Ozma while it was casting its Spell, canceling it and kicked up another explosion that pushed it back. I then saw the rest of the gang bounce up to the island and ran up towards us with Bahamut flying over head. I was relieved in seeing Lovrina all well, but I saw her concerned look since the tables have turned and she came to me and kneeled right to next to me.

"You okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Feeling a burn in my chest after that shot Ozma dealt to me and the boys," I told her, "Glad to see Eiko got you patched up."

"Now I got to do the same to you and the rest of you guys," the youngest summoner stated as she walked up to me. She raised her flute and build up her magic, shouting, "Curaga!" The multiple strands of white and sparkles had enveloped everyone on the island and revitalized us all. Amarant, Steiner, Zidane, and I were now feeling a lot better.

"We were seeing you do a lot of damage to the thing," Amarant stated, "After Lovrina was healed we decided to get our hands dirty."

"Still, be on your guard because it's still alive," I told him.

"Kweh?" Choco asked.

"What do we have to do then?" Vivi asked.

"We have to hit him hard and fast," I told him. "The damage will add up and then it'll be overwhelming..."

"So, hit him with every one of our best attacks?" Freya asked.

"That sounds like a plan," Zidane stated.

"Then we attack..."

Quina's words were interrupted as Ozma floated up from its smoke cloud and raised its power to a more threatening level, as if it wasn't already. I hated that fact even more; it's like every time we get close to killing it, we give Ozma more power in the process. It suddenly started building up magic faster than before and it launched another Flare like a cannon!"

Before anyone could get hit, Vivi stood in front of it and blocked with his staff.

"He stopped it!" Zidane cheered.

But I could still hear Vivi grunting as he tried to control the blast and Ozma was reacting to it as it charged up magic and then launched Holy right at Vivi. But this time, Amarant jumped in and held it back with its claw.

"Hang on," I wondered, "Not that I'm against it, but how am I seeing you guys hold up against those attacks?"

"Thanks to a little help from Asura before I was able to send Amarant after you," Lovrina said with a smile. "She was able to help those two out with a special power..."

Vivi and Amarant looked to each other and nodded, shouting. "RETURN MAGIC!"

That's when both of them were flung back violently, but was caught by Steiner and myself respectively. We all saw that both Flare and Holy was hit back Ozma, who was trying to heal itself with Curaga to soften the blow. Once I saw the impact, it was time to hit Ozma with everything we had.

"Guys, we should hit it with everything we have and quick," I shouted as charged up another Aura attack, "Let's split up so he doesn't have a big target!"

My response was everyone taking off towards the clouds and the other islands, which I got situated on. Bahamut stayed close to Dagger as always. Now I returned to charging up that Aura attack I wanted to use and saw that everyone was preparing their best attacks with Lovrina summoning Siren and Eiko summoning Madeen, both of which were following suit. I was grinning at the damage we would cause and I know Ozma would not be able to take it anymore...

And to think it came sooner as Ozma charged up more power on its arsenal and then let loose into the sky in the form of a dark red beam. All of us couldn't help but look upwards to see what Ozma was calling for since it could be an attack from the sky. But then I saw a few burning red marks from the sky coming in and closing in with every waking moment.

"KWEEEEHH!"

I heard Choco's alarming cry when he flew around frantically in fear, and it started to get hotter by the second, too. I then gasped since I remembered we were above the clouds, meaning closer to the world's atmosphere. And when I looked up, I saw the reason for Choco's outburst...

Four giant meteors were closing in on this air garden, meaning the spell it cast was Meteor and in a big scale.

I could hear everyone was also alarmed at what they saw and in the process of being scared, but nowhere as near as Choco was. And since they were aiming at us, there was only one thing to do...

"GET BACK TO THE MAIN ISLAND!" Zidane shouted as all of us made a break for it.

I jumped off from my island, bouncing on the clouds, and back towards the main island. The girls were gathered by their Eidolons and flown back with me, Choco was quick to join up, and the others did the same as I did. Once we were back on safer ground, we saw how the Meteors totally devastated the entire land. The other islands were burnt and broken apart, and the clouds were all evaporated by the heat and it continued to drop into Gaia's world, and from where we were, it could have impacted Vile Island and possibly nearest the oceans to create massive tidal waves.

"We got to end this now..." Freya said solemnly. "We can't let the world be destroyed like this..."

"But we have nowhere to go on this island," Amarant stated, "Where the Hell are we supposed to do?"

"Like I said earlier," I replied, "We just hit him again and again until there's nothing left... after all; I just see this big sphere of nothing as a stepping stone to Kuja and whatever that guy has got in store for us at the Iifa Tree. So I say, we keep going since we're stronger together than we are apart!"

Everyone gave their affirmatives as we prepared our standoff against Ozma...

But now it was pouring out the highest level of power I could not imagine and I started to shudder again as this time both halves of Ozma started spin rapidly in opposing directions. Once done, a darker shade of Red had erupted from the middle and sent into the sky once more.

"Oh man, he's going to use another Meteor Spell!" Vivi shouted.

"But it's gonna be even bigger from how it was released," Eiko added.

I can even see the concerned faces of the Eidolons as they looked to the sky, a lot tenser than ever. All of us then looked up to the sky and we were horrified at what was coming.

It was a giant Meteor, yes... but this time even bigger than the last five that just passed through. It was being formed from clusters of asteroids and meteoroids that gathered together in space to create one enormous meteor, which explained the excessive magic being cast on Ozma's part and this time it was being infused with some kind of darkness that was holding them all together. And now it was slowly descending and preparing to enter Gaia's atmosphere, and it would soon collide with every single one of us and the surrounding area.

"That's... the Doomsday Spell..." I gasped.

"'Doomsday?'" Everyone gasped.

"A spell that's going to hit everyone here and possibly this planet with that gigantic meteor, infused with the power of darkness," I explained. "Damn..."

"This thing is crazy!" Lani shouted, "That meteor's large enough to kill everything on the planet, including itself!"

"I think that's what Ozma's going for," I said, growling with anger and fear. "It's fed up with us now and decided to level the planet in order to destroy us for good..."

"Even killing its self?" Zidane gasped in shock when everyone else did, "Dammit, Ozma's just like Kuja..."

"Unruly brats that whenever it doesn't get its way, it'll just throw a tantrum in an attempt to make it all go away," Lovrina added, "Which means we need to settle it down..."

"And the only way to do it is to take down Ozma with its own spell!" I grinned.

"But Amarant and I won't be able to do that," Vivi replied. "We won't be able to hold onto something like that and push it back."

"The kid's right..." Amarant added.

"Then we have to do it the way I suggested earlier, hitting the spell against Ozma..." I said, pointing out the Eidolon's movement. "It hasn't moved since casting the Spell; meaning it needs to stay there. That just leaves us time to build up power to rival that Spell and push it all back on Ozma."

"Right, because it has to be alive to maintain the entirety of the Spell," Dagger figured as Bahamut stood behind her.

"Can it work?" Quina asked.

"Of course it will work," Eiko spoke up as Madeen stood behind her. "Remember, Ron knows about this and we all took the chance at facing Ozma."

"And we can't go wrong with this plan now," Zidane stated, "You can see four of us in Trance now... meaning we got a lot of power between all twelve us, so let's hit this guy with everything we got and hold nothing back!"

"And just in time, too," Lani pointed out as we refocused our sights back up and saw that the Doomsday Spell was entering the atmosphere and things were starting to heat up. "I think it's time we did that plan!"

"Then let's do it, everyone!" I shouted, "ATTACK NOW!"

"Frog Drop!" Quina shouted, building up her Blue Magic and summoned her large frog to belly flop on top of Ozma...

"KWWEEEHHHH!" Choco shrieked as he flapped his wings rapidly to unleash his Choco Meteor attack, bombarding on the Eidolon...

"Big Bang!" Lani once again launched her giant red sphere from her axe and let it expand all over her enemy...

"Dragon's Crest!" Freya announced, stabbing her lance into the ground, and created the giant, purple seal of the demonic dragon underneath Ozma. Then, the seal shattered and out came that demonic dragon's spirit which grabbed the Eidolon underneath, making the bottom half start to slow down in its spin.

"Flare!" Vivi shouted raising his staff to gather up tremendous Black Magic on the tip and then fired it all in a single spell that shot off into a rocket.

"Madeen, Terra Homing!" Eiko shouted to her longtime friend, letting her fire numerous amounts of Holy onto the Doomsday Spell, beginning the process of pushing it back.

"Siren, Lunatic Voice!" Lovrina commanded as her personal Eidolon started playing her harp which unleashed its notes that encircled Ozma, trying to disrupt the caster into weakening its hold on Doomsday.

"Bahamut, Mega Flare!" Dagger commanded as the King of Dragons let loose a massive white blast onto the Doomsday Spell, helping out Madeen in pushing it back...

Amarant threw several sharp disks at Ozma, making them stick to its body while the bounty hunter charged up more power in his palms, "No Mercy!" He shouted as he launched the white orb into the Doomsday Spell, digging into the meteor...

"Shock!" Steiner shouted as he focused his blade onto Doomsday and fired the white flash onto the meteor, giving it a push due to his Trance amplifying his power.

"Grand Lethal!" Zidane shouted as several beams of energy lance out from Zidane's body, striking both Ozma and the Doomsday Spell and unleashing an explosion that harmed the caster and pushing back the Spell towards it. With each hit a symbol appears in the explosion of the impact, keeping Ozma in more range of its own attack.

"Now, Aura Wave!" I roared as I thrust both my fists towards the Doomsday Spell and let loose a white energy wave that I used to push the Doomsday Spell.

Every single one of us was now either attacking Ozma or pushing back its ultimate spell to make it take the bulk of the damage. Still, the meteor was coming down on the world with us on top. I can tell that everyone was now contemplating on how this can still end in our grand favor.

That's when it hit me... even though I was still in control of using Aura outside of Trance, it is at its most power when in Trance and I wasn't using it to the fullest. I had to dig deep or else the whole world would be destroyed... and then there was someone else that could do something.

I then did just that as I roared out more and put more into the Aura Wave that pushed back the Doomsday spell even more. Everyone else got motivated and them put more into their attacks and either severely hurt Ozma or pushed back Doomsday.

Soon, the spell was reaching Ozma and everyone who was attacking it had moved away and watched as Ozma was now being drilled into by its own attack. And then...

*KABOOOM!*

It all exploded into Ozma's body, but the shockwave of the explosion had knocked us all away and destroyed the island. Once again, we all screamed as we thought we fell to our eventual doom.

Then, the world went black...

(End Music)

* * *

><p>(?)<p>

"Rise and shine on you, man!" I suddenly heard Zidane's voice and something nudging me awake. I groaned as I started shifting around where I was and started waking up. Once my vision was focused enough, I was looking up at the sky and saw Zidane looking down on me. "What's up, man?"

"You apparently," I said, groaning once more. "Let me up..."

Zidane pulled me to my feet and I got a good look at where we were...

Back on Vile Island and the place was drenched with water as I thought when those meteors hit Gaia's oceans. I cringed inwardly thinking of how pissed off those Yans would be after being waterlogged. But then I went and turned my thoughts back towards everyone else. I was smiling as I saw everyone started waking up from their slumber and get back on their feet.

"That was one Hell of a ride," Lani said, stretching out her arms. "Trance sure gives you power like no other..."

"Welcome to the club," Amarant replied. "Best thing is... Ozma's dead..."

"Plan worked," Quina exclaimed.

"Kweh-Kweeeh!" Choco also exclaimed, shaking his feathers of the water he had been lying in.

Steiner had looked his sword Excalibur with a proud smile on his face, grateful that it saved him once more.

Vivi straightened out his hat and looked up at Steiner, sharing happy smiles to each other.

"Now we need to do justice against one more foe," Freya stated.

"We need to go to the Iifa Tree and stop Kuja..." Dagger nodded.

"I think our ancestors would be proud to know that Ozma's nothing to worry about," Eiko figured.

"Couldn't agree more," Lovrina smiled. "Especially hearing how our ancestors suffered..."

I gasped, "Where are the Yans?"

Everyone then started to look thoughtful and even looked around the island.

"Those tidal waves?" Zidane wondered.

"No, they wouldn't be swept away that easily..." I told him. "Their resilience is testament to that..."

"Maybe they moved," Freya figured as she called us over from the mountain base. "I found something written here!" All of us had run over to the Burmecian Knight and saw where Freya was pointing at.

The message stated:

"I'm impressed;

All of you were able to defeat the once great Ozma.

Years of torment from that creature can finally be put to rest.

Do not worry about me;

I have relocated the Yans to another island to settle in

And have told the animals about your feat.

And it seems you were right about one thing;

I sensed a power decreased near the Iifa Tree.

If so, defeating Ozma was what you all needed to achieve your goal.

Now, I know you will succeed in defeating this Kuja.

Farewell."

Reading that, I got a big grin on my face as I known all along that defeating Ozma was the key, "Well, alright! I knew it! And after we find the Chocobo's Paradise, it's time!"

"KWEH!" Choco exclaimed.

"Choco's sure happy," Eiko giggled.

"Then we should stop waiting around here and get everything done so we can get to that tree!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Then all aboard the Invincible, everyone!" I shouted.

Everyone cheered as we headed over to the Terran airship. It was drenched in water, but still functioning normally. Now we have to get the last of our soul searching done and finish this off...

* * *

><p>Alright, one more chapter and then we are bound for the final part of the story. Cross your fingers, boys and girls! Also, the story about Ozma was inspired by the early PS2 game, Eternal Ring. Paying homage to a good game.<p>

Next time: We search for Chocobo's Paradise with the help of an old friend. (Scene of Mene inside the Invincible)

And it is a great place (Scene of a flourishing place with chocobos of different colors all around.)

Afterwards, it's time to head for Kuja (Scene of several white dragons flying over the Iifa Tree.)

Next Chapter: Choco's Grand Paradise! Prepare for Final Battle!

Please Read and Review! Later dudes!


	6. CH 61: Prepare for Final Battle!

Duelist of Dawn: Here we are folks! The last filler chapter because after this, we going to end this thing!

*Audience cheers*

DoD: First things first, show off the last of the sidequests. No one's here because there's really no need for feedback, except from my reviewers!

Disclaimer: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

DoD: Now start the chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 61<strong>

**Choco's Grand Paradise! Prepare for Final Battle!**

* * *

><p>[Ron's POV] [The Invincible's Cockpit]<p>

Back inside the Invincible, I had controlled the Terran Airship in search of Mognet Central and Chocobo's Paradise. Even though that the portal above the Iifa Tree was opened, Choco still had to do some soul-searching at the place he would live on for the rest of his life and it also had me wondering why I didn't see a lot of moogles in the majority of places. Then I thought of something; with Mognet Central down, they possibly had to go themselves and tell their friends what they needed to say. However, there was still one problem that Zidane brought to my attention...

"Any idea how to get to Chocobo's Paradise or Mognet Central?" the Genome asked.

I groaned as I asked myself the same question, "Don't know myself; we would have to ask a chocobo and a moogle to know that. And that's already a problem..."

"Yeah," Zidane replied. "There are no moogles on this ship and Choco is trying to figure out where to go also."

"And that Chocobo King we kept meeting every time we opened a treasure chest that sent us to that dream world didn't give us any clues to where." I noted. "Thanks to Lovrina telling me before Terra when Choco got to his golden form is that Choco has everything he needs to get home."

"Hmm, maybe we need to have Eiko or Lovrina translate for him later once everyone wakes up..."

"Yeah; with how much Ozma dealt us and how much power we had to exert against it, maybe we should be resting ourselves before finding everything." I figured. "We should find some place to dock and rest up for the night and then we'll be fully prepared to take on whatever."

"Okay then, we should go to Lindbulm," Zidane offered. "It's the only place I know that we can safely dock this airship at."

"But wouldn't it alert Cid about what we are about to do the following day?" I asked. "Dagger doesn't want to put him in a panic, remember?"

"Only if we don't tell him," The Genome winked. "Besides, I got things to deliver to the Boss..."

"You're going to tell him and then he'll tell Cid in our place," I figured. I sighed, giving in. "Alright then. But another thing he might do is to see how the Invincible works to try and remake new airships. We'll grab too much attention and it'll take all the planning in the world to stop him from doing so."

"Cid is an airship fanatic," Zidane shrugged. "Can't argue with that when with him we got to so many places..."

* * *

><p>[Time Skip...]<p>

We told everyone about stopping by Lindbulm to get some rest. Immediately, we told Dagger not to worry as we weren't going to tell Cid about what we were planning to do to save the world against Kuja. Freya had spoken up afterwards, telling me to drop her off at Burmecia. I obliged, knowing she had a right to see her homeland. Luckily, she had brethren around especially the King of Burmecia, the Cleyran High Priest, and even Puck. She told us back when we were planning to attack Kuja at his Desert Palace that everyone was being rounded up to rebuild their kingdom. Not only that, she could gather any little things she needed that would benefit us all.

* * *

><p>[Lindbulm Grand Castle]<p>

Once we dropped her off, the rest of us went to Lindbulm and docked at the Grand Castle.

Needless to say, once the rest of us got off the airship we were met by a group of admirers that looked at the airship. Soldiers, castle staff, passerby, all of them were awestruck by the Invincible and were whispering or clamoring openly about it.

I leaned into Zidane's ear and said, "I told you we'd get too much attention..."

"Yeah, but you don't see Cid anywhere, do you?" He asked back with a smirk. "Now let's get over to the inn, we need our rest."

"Yeah, yeah..." I waved off and then talked to the man in charge of the airship dock.

During our conversation, I learned that Regent Cid was already in a meeting with his consul about the reemergence of the Mist around the continent. Not to mention that the Serpent's Gate in between Lindbulm and Burmecia was being barred off in case of emergency due to the powerful monsters outside. Plus, since we were with the Regent's niece, there was no charge thinking she came to request an audience with the Regent in the near future.

However, all of us went to the air cabs and rode them to Business District to get to the inn. We pretty much took up the whole second floor with our payment and trying to share rooms without trying to resort to using the castle rooms and get in touch Cid.

However...

Before I went into the room I shared with Zidane, he decided to walk over to the Theater District to go and talk to his old gang. I wonder how long it would take Cid to get the troops ready after we got done with everything else...

* * *

><p>[Choco's POV] [Chocobo's Dream World]<p>

While everyone had went indoors to sleep outside of the inn, Choco found a nice spot to perch himself in the midst of the rebuilding city. Not long after he slept, however, the golden chocobo had now found out he was in a familiar setting... one he hadn't see since he obtained his golden, flying form.

(Play Aloha De Chocobo from Final Fantasy IX)

He then saw himself on top of a familiar, small planet that he walked with only a few steps to reach a large, golden throne with a small castle-like structure behind it and a small pond right up front. Seconds later, another familiar sight greeted the golden chocobo...

The giant, chocobo king appeared on the throne and looked down to see his subject.

"Good, good!" He smiled, "You have answered my call! There is something troubling you, my friend?"

"K-Kwekweh, Kweh?" Choco asked. "Kwehweh!"

"I see..." The chocobo king mused. "With the emergence of the Mist surrounding the land, I had to hide the location of the Sacred Chocobo Lands, lest our brethren be corrupted."

"Kweh!"

"Ho ho ho!" the king chuckled. "Do not be alarmed; everyone is safe and well. Now I should tell you about that location to see where you will find us... Listen carefully..."

The golden chocobo prepared to listen intently...

"You will need to head to the northwestern corner of the world," He announced. "No map will be able to find it; but trust in your friends that have led you to your ultimate state. The catch is that only you can reach the lands since the island is much too small for an airship to land. Have someone ride along with you and you will lead them to the island."

Choco nodded, "Kwok kwehkweh."

"I look forward to your arrival at the island," the Chocobo King nodded, "I also looking forward to shaking hands of the people who helped you achieve your dream."

"Kweh!"

The King finally faded away as the light surrounded Choco, taking him out of the dream world and back to the waking world.

* * *

><p>[The next day...] [Invincible]<p>

After our rest, we got down to collecting things for our trip.

Potions, various antidotes to ailments, upgrades to our weapons, the whole nine yards... Once everything was collected, we immediately headed over to the castle and boarded the airship. I thanked the people taking care of it and then headed out of the castle docks and then Lindblum itself. Afterwards, we went back to Burmecia to get Freya who came back with good news about her kingdom being rebuilt. Once done, we took to the skies.

The first thing on the agenda was finding either the Mognet Central or finding the Chocobo's Paradise.

I landed at a spot on the Outer Continent so that I could look to everyone and get in my input on the final choice.

"Well, I think we should find the Chocobo's Paradise first," Zidane stated. "I mean, does anyone know where Mognet Central is at?"

"Good thinking," Lovrina nodded. "Only moogles would know where Mognet Central is located, and I forgot to ask Morrison and the others where to find it."

"But then there is another problem," Eiko added, "We don't know where the Chocobo's Paradise is. I doubt Choco knows either since we've been trying to help him gain the powers to do so."

"Kweh!"

"Huh?" Everyone said as they turned to the golden chocobo who suddenly spoke up.

"Kwok, kwek, kweh." He said, in response.

Eiko and Lovrina gasped, "Really!?" The chocobo nodded.

"Guys, Choco figured out where to find the Chocobo's Paradise!" the youngest Summoner exclaimed.

Everyone started looking to each other.

"You mean just know?" I asked.

Choco shook his head, "Kweh, kwokkwehkweh, kweh. Kwek, kwok, kwok!"

"It's on an island that is the northwestern reaches of the world," Lovrina translated. "You won't be able to find it on the map, and it is too small for the airship to land."

"Guess we have to let Choco go alone?" Steiner asked.

"Kwok, kwehkwokkwok, kweh," Choco continued.

"Actually, the Chocobo King requested that Ron and I go in to find the Paradise," Eiko translated. "After all, he helped me find the treasure chest that got me this far in reaching that place."

Zidane shrugged as he thought it would be no problem, "So, we just head northwest right?" He asked. Choco nodded. "Then the perfect thing to do is to head for the middle of the world and then head northwest from that way."

"Or we could head for the Lost Continent and then begin our search that way by continuing west from there," I figured, "Saves us time especially if Choco can point out the island."

"Pretty good thinking," Lani said, patting me on the back. "We don't even need a compass."

"Something I learned while reading a compass," I added for good measure.

"Then let's get some relaxation in," Amarant said, stretching out before walking to the back of the Terran airship. "No doubt we would be able to see this Chocobo's Paradise anytime soon."

"And there he goes," Zidane stated. "Let's just find the tiny island and head for the Chocobo's Paradise."

"Roger," I said as I turned my attention to the controls and headed straight for the Lost Continent, with the help of the World Map.

* * *

><p>(Time Skip- Lost Continent)<p>

It took us some hours to reach, but we had reached the Lost Continent. Overhead, we saw how much the roots of the Iifa Tree had reached to this icy continent. We saw that Shimmering Island was no more; breaking the connection between Gaia and Terra in a teleporting sense because the Iifa Tree could still transfer souls due to Garland's words of it being the gateway.

The roots had blocked off Esto Gaza, covering the entrance. I hoped that the people inside and sought refuge in the only place on that continent had not died from the changes of the tree. Pretty much, nothing else except where the root that blocked the holy place just crossed over a mountain and back into the water. I gave a silent prayer to the people of Esto Gaza as I passed over the Lost Continent.

"I guess we are close."

I heard Freya's voice as she approached me while staring out at Mist-covered world.

"Yeah," I replied, "Chocobo's Paradise is beyond this water somewhere. At least I can see past it; then again, I always had the better eyesight in the family." I chuckled a bit in remembrance of my home world.

"I do always wondered what will happen to you after this journey comes to an end," the Burmecian Knight said. "Are you planning to go back to whatever it is that you came from?"

I smiled for once, remembering that night with Lovrina at the Eidolon Wall. Thanks to those words and then what happened afterwards, I knew what I wanted to do.

"Actually, I'm thinking of staying," I told her.

"Really?" She asked. "Won't you miss your family?"

"Of course I'll miss them," I replied. "But every baby bird as to leave the nest some time; and it's time I did the same." I glanced at the Burmecian. "During my time here in Gaia, I thought I could turn this bad situation of being Garland's pawn and replacement for Eclipse into something that will help me grow up into a better person. I felt held back since I couldn't do much as opposed to the rest of my family moving on with their lives. Coming here was something I could use to help myself in order to help them out." I then smiled. "Then I thought at the end, I need to help myself in order to make sure I'm secure and I'm ready to take on the world. In a way, I had to cling on to you all, but I was able to strike out on my own eventually."

"That is true," Freya agreed. "Although, I hated that you kept secrets from us for so long... but it took a vast amount of courage for you to come up to all of us at once to say it all."

I nodded back, "Yeah, with so far in the journey I figured you guys would hate me. But I'm glad it is not all a grudge for you all and you were just upset; and I knew you guys would take it a lot harder than I thought, but I know this is real."

"Yes, and I thank you again for Burmecia and for Cleyra."

"No problem, just glad I was able to make a difference in all of this." I smiled. "So, how was everything back in Burmecia aside from the restoration?"

"His Majesty and the High Priest of Cleyra have made sure that everything is going fine," the Burmecian Knight replied. "Everyone that escaped to Lindbulm made that perilous trip across the Mist to do so and into Gizamaluke's Grotto."

"Hope they're okay," I thought out loud. "Those Mist Monsters are not easy."

"And you forgot how strong a Burmecian Knight is when alert," She smirked. She then quickly lost it, speaking in a saddened tone, "Although... I ran into a familiar face..."

"Fratley," I asked. "I know it has to be hard for the one who you spent so much time looking for only to have him lose his memory of everything he held dear. Something must have happened to him on his journey for that to occur, because I know from experience he wouldn't forget you so easily; the woman he loves."

Freya sighed, "I just hope things can get better in the long run... it's just so hard to forget him..."

"Well, you can just keep those memories of the good ol' days," I figured. "Also if he has some faint memories, Fratley would come back to you on his own. But at the end of the day, if you really care for him, you would just start over from the beginning. You can jog his memory piece by piece or just accept each other as you are. What have you got to lose?"

I turned to her, seeing the thoughtful expression on the Burmecian Knight's face. After a few seconds, she smiled.

"Yes, what do I have to lose?" She stated to herself. "Then again, I am simply afraid of being rejected."

"How'd you take it when you two hooked up the first time?" I asked her.

Freya gasped, "Of course!" Suddenly, she caught me by surprise when she hugged me. The last time she did that was when she was relieved I survived Kuja's attack at Burmecia. "Thank you, Ron." She said before walking towards the back of the ship.

Turning back to the attention of the front, I said to myself, _'How come all of a sudden, I know what to say in relationships? Not that I'm complaining that people turn to me for help, but I still got to wonder...'_

It was then I saw something faint coming in on the front window. Using my Aura Sight, I looked through the Mist and saw a small island in the distance and it was getting slightly bigger with the distance decreasing. Getting closer, I immediately saw what could be Chocobo's Paradise.

Grinning I said, "Found it!"

* * *

><p>(Invincible – Interior)<p>

Minutes later, I was able to keep the airship over the island. And it was small as Choco stated, having almost no land to stand on for a person as it was completely taken over by a small mountain range. Pretty soon, I found myself mounting Choco as we both prepared to enter the teleporter.

"Alright, guys," I said. "We're going to be checking out Choco's new home. I saw a hole enough for me and Choco to fly in and that probably shows the real paradise therein. We'll be back soon."

"Wait a minute," Eiko interrupted, "Aren't you going to need someone to translate for you just in case the other chocobos want to talk to you?"

I looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, I know the Chocobo King can speak perfect English, but I can see if we see other chocobos first... then I'll have to take you and Lovrina with me."

"But the problem is that you can't summon your Eidolons in here before you go down and Choco can only hold two people," Amarant interjected.

"Then, I'll just have to make sure I can get in without having to summon," Lovrina said as she ran through a string of hand signs, "Transformation!"

My girlfriend was soon replaced with a puff of smoke that nearly covered the whole room. Once the smoke cleared, replacing the ninja/Summoner was another chocobo but with a white color.

"Of course," Eiko said as she jumped on top of the new 'chocobo' "Becoming a chocobo yourself to carry another person." She then growled, "How come you never did that for me when I wanted to ride a chocobo?"

"Kweeh kwok!" Unfortunately, being a chocobo had reduced Lovrina to chocobo speak.

"Kwek kweh!" Choco responded back.

"Hey!" Eiko grumbled as she eyed the two chocobos. "I SO did ask, Lovrina! And Choco, don't you start!"

"You guys done?" I asked. "Remember that we need to check out the Paradise?"

"Oh right," Eiko said sheepishly.

"Kweh!" Both the chocobos said.

Soon, both chocobos stepped on the teleporter and took Eiko and myself below the Invincible.

* * *

><p>(Unknown Island)<p>

Soon, both Choco and Lovrina were both in the skies, flying over the island. Immediately, I saw that hole from earlier and motioned Eiko and Lovrina to follow me and Choco. Signaling to the golden chocobo, we all took a big nosedive into the giant hole. It was like falling from the sky, but a lot faster since Choco could control his descent. Once he sensed it, Choco had pulled up and went through another tunnel with Eiko and Lovrina following close behind. Soon, we came into a light that blinded us all...

Once we opened them up, we were greeted by a wonderful sight like we were transported away from the Mist-Covered Gaia into clearer one...

Chocobo's Paradise...

* * *

><p>It was filled with healthy trees on several cliffs and mountains that looked as if they surrounded the place but had spread out enough to let in the clear blue skies and the bright sun up above. There were several water sources coming out of the cliffs and running down these golden slides that were twisting around the Paradise. Some of them even led to these houses that looked like they were made from steel material, beyond what I thought of what their houses would be. Not only that, there were different types of greens found anywhere and I could see Choco taking advantage of it.<p>

"Wow..." Eiko gasped. "This place is beautiful!"

"Kweh!" Lovrina exclaimed.

"You said it," I replied. "And this place is untouched by the Mist so none of their monsters can get here and attack the chocobos or any of the plant life and water sources here."

"Kwok," I could see Choco happily eating the greens off the ground.

"I know Choco's going to love it here." I stated with a smile.

Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Lovrina decided to snap off some of the greens with her beak and take a bite. Once she swallowed them up and savored the taste...

"KWEH!" She out a delighted call and then started eating with more enthusiasm.

"Whoa," Eiko gasped, shocked at her sister's habit. "Those greens must be great if you're a chocobo."

"Yeah, pretty much," I added, surprised at my girlfriend's habits. "And she originally came here as a chocobo to get in this place..."

"So this is paradise, kupo..."

Every one of us stopped our thoughts and actions and turned around to see a familiar face; one I haven't seen since meeting Choco back during the Alexandria-Burmecia War.

"Mene!?" I gasped, "When did you get here?"

The small moogle smirked and flew up to my face, "Kupo! I followed you because I thought you'd find this place soon." He said before turning to Choco, "And wow, Choco! You really have come up in the world... golden feathers and all!"

"Kweh, kweh, kwok!" Choco replied.

"He said 'there wasn't any doubt I could do it with my friends,'" Eiko translated.

Then Mene flew over to Chocobo, "And then you befriended this white chocobo, too?" He exclaimed, "Can she fight like Choco can?"

Eiko and I shared a mischievous look before she jumped off of Lovrina's back. "Yeah," She said and turned to her sister, "In fact, Lovrina show him what else you can do."

"Kweh," the white chocobo nodded.

*POOF!*

The chocobo was covered in a giant cloud of white smoke that had all of us coughing as we inadvertently inhaled it. Seconds later, the smoke cleared up and in the white chocobo's place was Lovrina Carol who was standing there with her hands on her hips.

"KUPO!" Mene shouted in surprised, getting Choco, Eiko, Lovrina, and I laughing at it all, "A human!?"

"Actually, I'm a Summoner," Lovrina pointed out. "My sister and I are Summoners."

"And you know, I never did get around to introductions," I figured. "Mene, this is Eiko and Lovrina Carol; two of the last of the Summoner Tribe. Choco and I met them when we got to the Outer Continent. Ladies, this is Mene; Zidane, Freya, Quina, Vivi, and I met him when we first met Choco back in the Mist Continent."

"Pleased to meet you, kupo," Mene said, "But I still didn't like that joke you played on me..." The girls giggled at his plight. The moogle just groaned as he turned his attention back towards the entirety that was the Chocobo's Paradise. "I'm speechless, kupo... I never thought I would see it at all, kupo..."

"Kweh..." Choco said.

"Okay, so we got here..." Eiko stated, "But what now?"

"I guess we can find that Chocobo King and tell him that Choco's here..." I figured. "He would want to know since he reached him in the dream world."

"Maybe we can ask the locals," Lovrina figured.

"But too bad they're flying up to somewhere," Mene pointed out. We all looked to the skies and saw several different-colored chocobos flying or ones that could not using some water geysers upwards to one spot. I whistled at the speed at all of these birds.

"I guess we follow them," I said. "With so many chocobos gathering around one place, we can get the word out."

"And it's more than likely that they are going to see the Chocobo King themselves," Lovrina added. "A meeting of sorts..."

"Then let's get up there..." Eiko said as she hopped on Choco's back.

"Kweh!" Choco shouted as he began to take flight.

"Don't forget me!" Mene shouted as he followed after the two.

"Now it's our turn," I said, "I'll try out the geysers..." I looked to Lovrina with a small grin, "Excuse me!" I snuck a quick kiss before rushing down the slide and cheering like I was at a waterpark. Once I reached the bottom, I ran over to the geyser and jumped on, sending upwards into the sky after the other chocobos.

* * *

><p>Once I reached the top, I landed, kneeling on the ledge successfully. I heard another hiss of the geyser being used and I saw Lovrina in the air and then she gracefully landed on both of her feet. She looked back at me with a smirk.<p>

"Showoff," I muttered and I heard her giggle at me. As soon as we turned our attention ahead, we saw numerous chocobos gathering around a large pond with many roost-like structures to the surrounding areas. It looked like they were indeed gathering for a meeting because across the pond. Right at the front we saw Choco, Eiko, and Mene at the pond's edge. And across from it, was the familiar chocobo king that Choco and I met from the dreams. His throne was just like the one from that Dream World, but now he had two golden chocobo sitting right next to both sides of him.

"Ah!" He announced his regal tone, "Seeker Choco, welcome... I am Fat Chocobo, the king of Chocobo's Paradise!" We met up with Choco, Eiko, and Mene just as Fat Chocobo continued his introduction. "I must admit, it would have been better if you'd come here without the help of humans..." I took slight offense to that, as he knew that I was one of the people that helped him evolve and become strong with his perfected abilities, until... "But they have taken good care of you." He then flapped his wings to let a blinding flash engulf the area for a brief second, before any of us could even blink. Once done, I could hear many voices talking from all around us.

"This is a first," A male voice was heard, "Humans taking good care of chocobos?"

"Yes, it's been years since humans and chocobos were able to live together," Another male voice said in reply.

"Did you hear about that new chocobo," A female voice asked, "Apparently, he knows how to fight, yes?"

"Really," Another female voice asked, intrigued by the new information, "If that's the case, I wonder if he'll be looking for a mate?"

"Where are all these voices coming from?" Mene asked.

"Yeah, it's the first I'm hearing these voices, too," I added, still hearing them all.

The Carol sisters looked to us in confusion, "You can hear the chocobos?"

"What?" I gasped. "The chocobos are talking?" I then looked to Choco, "Then that means..."

Choco turned around, walked up to me and then said... "Surprise!" In a young adult's voice.

"Whoa..." I said.

Fat Chocobo let out a hearty laugh as all attention was placed on him, "I've made it so they can understand our language while they're here... Please come before me..."

"That is kind of you, Your Majesty," Choco said, bowing slightly before he led Eiko and Mene over to king.

"This is getting weirder and weirder for me," I said to Lovrina.

"Well, now you're kinda walking in my shoes while you're here," She stated, patting me on the shoulder before walking over herself. I shrugged and smiled heading over to the king as well. Once there he looked to the rest of us, except for Choco.

"You, who brought Choco here..." Fat Chocobo addressed, "I thank you for helping Choco in reaching the sacred lands. Now Choco will stay here and start a new life with us. You should say your goodbyes now."

"W-What," Choco asked.

"Uh, sir," I began to say, but then Mene flew up in front of the chocobo king with a happy smile.

"I'm Mene!" He introduced himself, "I'll live here, too, kupo!"

Fat Chocobo looked back with a sweat drop running down the side of his face. "...Little one."

"Kupo?"

"Only chocobos can live here." The chocobo king stated.

Mene gasped and started fiddling around with his hands, "...No exceptions?"

"No exceptions..."

Mene looked somber at the friend he knew for a long time, "...Choco..."

"Have you finished your goodbyes?" Fat Chocobo stated.

"Well, we haven't reached that part yet," I spoke up. "There's a threat back on Gaia, and we need Choco's help to defeat it. As much as we wanted to bring him here to his new home, Choco's invaluable to us."

"Yeah," Choco added, "Especially since what happens in that world could end up taking out this paradise as well."

"Actually, nothing will affect this world." One of the golden chocobos announced. "We can see into the other world, but nothing will be able to touch it. The Mist cannot penetrate our portal to this realm."

"This paradise even existed long before the disaster 5,000 years ago..." The other golden chocobo stated, "We were able to survive that thanks to the magical properties that portal holds."

"And Choco, were you not looking for peace and companionship?" Fat Chocobo asked, "We can offer those things here, like I said with the other chocobos."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Choco sighed, "Even if I was safe from all the disaster that Gaia brings, I cannot sit by and let everyone that I made friends with and their world go to ruin. I learned many things from them and had their companionship. If it wasn't for them, I would be unable to defense myself from anything. I've seen too many things, terrible things that I wish I could have run away from... but to know that these guys have my back in battle and in life, it's better than all the salvation this place can offer me. And I won't abandon them know that they could die out back there."

Needless to say, Eiko, Lovrina, Mene, and I were touched by Choco's words. I could even think back to when he was learning from us... and now he can do the same for us.

Fat Chocobo looked like he learned something from that talk as well. "So, there are things you must take care of..."

"That's right." The chocobo nodded. "If you'll still have me after Gaia is safe, I can come back."

The king and his two cohorts had conversed for a while, leaving the rest of us to talk amongst ourselves.

"Okay I got that this is a chocobo-only place, but I didn't like how they wanted us gone," Eiko said with a pout.

"Look at it from their perspective," I told her. "They've done everything they could to prevent any kind of disasters even when the biggest one occurred 5,000 years ago. They're afraid that something could mess it up."

"Not to mention they're afraid for one of their own," Lovrina pointed out. "They want Choco to stay and they have some respect for us seeing as we helped him survive."

"Still, I'm standing by my decision," Choco stated. "It wouldn't be right for me to be secluded in a paradise while your world now is like Hell because of Kuja. Not to mention what he's done to you three alone..."

"How could I forget," Eiko grumbled, remembering how Zorn and Thorn tried to extract her Eidolons and it resulted in Mog showing her true face and having to leave her majority of the time.

I had to remember when Kuja first 'introduced' me to the Project: Eclipse business that I ended coming into when I got my powers when I surprisingly got too strong for Beatrix to handle because of my anger-induced Trance. Not to mention all the pain I went through every time the Invincible's power was used.

And I know our stories combined put stress on Lovrina, knowing how much she cared for us both.

Soon, the 'royal chocobo court' as I called it, came out of their huddle and spoke to us.

"In light of everything you said to us, Choco," Fat Chocobo stated. "You may come back when you finish what you must do."

We all smiled at the answer the chocobo king had given us.

"But be wary, Choco," He continued. "I can tell from your eyes as well as your friends' that the power you face is nearly beyond your control."

"This is why I'm adding in my help," the golden chocobo nodded. "Something may happen that only I can do to save them and prevent a disaster."

"Then allow me to help you get done quickly," the king chocobo smiled. "By helping you back towards the entrance..."

Suddenly, a bright circle flashed from beneath our feet and engulfed Choco, Eiko, Lovrina, Mene, and I in its light...

* * *

><p>(Invincible – Interior)<p>

Once the light was over, all of us found ourselves back inside the airship and stood over and nearest the teleporter. We also heard several gasps around us and saw that Zidane, Dagger, Lani, and Vivi were inside that very room.

"Whoa," Lani exclaimed, "Where'd you guys come from?"

"I'm actually surprised we got transported inside this airship when were nowhere near it at the time." I stated.

"What do you mean?" Vivi asked.

"We were just at the Chocobo's Paradise and we spoke to the king of that place," Eiko said.

"Really?" Dagger asked.

"Really," Lovrina replied, she then pointed to Mene who was on top of Choco. "We even ran into an old friend of Choco's."

"Zidane, Vivi, what's up, kupo?" the moogle waved to the two in question.

"Hey Mene, how you've been?" The Genome greeted.

"Terrible," Mene sighed, "They wouldn't let me stay in the Chocobo's Paradise! Can you believe that? I've been with Choco longer than anyone and they couldn't make an exception!"

"Actually, it doesn't sound too surprising," the Black Mage figured. "It's called 'Chocobo's Paradise' after all."

"And it's an amazing place," I said, "But right now, we need to get to Mognet Central and fast." I looked to the Moogle. "Mene, you know the way?"

"Well, I was going home back into the forest, kupo," Mene stated, "But I hate ducking and dodging those new monsters that came around my forest; it's what led me to you guys, kupo. So, I'll pal around until we reach Mognet Central, kupo. Let's see the map, kupo!"

"Follow me," I said as walked into the cockpit of the airship.

* * *

><p>(Later...) (Invincible – Cockpit)<p>

Right now, I was currently navigating Gaia once more as I got done talking with Mene. Luckily, it wasn't going to be that hard once more. He pointed out another spot on the map that showed nothing just like Chocobo's Paradise. He talked to me about an island off the coast of the Outer Continent due north. It was awhile longer, too. We spent our time trading stories, which involved how Choco kept getting stronger from my end and the places Mene found on his travels on his end. He told me about how he found an old lagoon filled with treasures and it took him awhile to get through the reef waters and even went underwater to get to the most valuable ones.

Luckily for me, the talks made time fly by as we reached the island he talked about. But instead of some plain looking land that had something to hide, a building was out in plain sight...

It was a large, white building with purple window shutters and had its own red 'pom pom' on top of it. I then got to thinking...

"How come we didn't see this back when were at the Outer Continent?" I wondered. "Something like that should have stood out."

"That's because the pom pom wasn't up before, kupo," Mene told me. "The Mist makes it hard to see, so we moogles need a landmark to lead us straight to it, kupo. And what better way to do it than our trademark pom poms, kupo!"

"Makes perfect sense," I stated.

"Looks like we made it..."

I turned to see Zidane walk up next to me.

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to land this thing," I told him, "You coming with?"

"Sure," the Genome replied. "I missed out on Chocobo's Paradise, but I don't plan on missing how the moogles do their mailing system."

"Yeah, it always intrigued me as well..."

* * *

><p>Soon, the Invincible landed a few feet away from Mognet Central and we began to dismount. Joining Zidane, Mene and I were Vivi and Quina. Once we teleported underneath the airship, we suddenly noticed the thick Mist that enveloped this island which made it hard to see. I kept everyone near me while I used my Aura Sight to see clearly that Mognet Central was right in front of us.<p>

"This Mist is still irritating now that it's this thick," Zidane noted.

"Maybe this is the reason that Mognet Central was having problems delivering the mail," Vivi figured.

"No, it happened before the Mist settled in, kupo," Mene told us. "Ironically, it happened sometime after the Mist left the Mist Continent. And then we had to have the head mailman, Artemecion, deliver the mail while the other moogles that worked at Mognet Central had to deal with sorting the mail and fixing whatever problem we have to deal with in there."

"Maybe they have lunch break?" Quina asked, absentmindedly.

"If only it were that simple, Quina," I said. "Let's just get in and see for ourselves."

"Agreed..." Zidane replied as they followed behind me so I could lead them inside the building.

* * *

><p>(Play Moogle Theme ~ Mognet Central Theme from Final Fantasy 9)<p>

Once we got in, all of us were treated to the sight of a small interior that was Mognet Central. It seemed like a regular office for business as we were now standing in the front lobby, with nothing but two wooden benches on both sides of the room with many moogles sitting in them and a large wooden clock on the other side of the wall with a female moogle receptionist sitting in the desk underneath it. Seeing a doorway behind the receptionist, I figured out that must hold the heart of the place; the mail sorting machine.

Mene made it his choice to fly towards the receptionist while we stood around, looking over our current room.

"Mogilana, how are you, kupo?" He said to the receptionist, who took the time to look up and see him.

"Kupo?" She said before turning back to her work. "Sorry, kupo. I can't talk right now, Mene. There's tons of work to be done, kupo."

"Yeah, the place is going down, kupo..." Mene stated. "How bad is it back there, kupo?"

"It's a frenzy of moogles and mail, kupo!" Mogilana exclaimed. "We don't even know how that machine stopped, kupo! We're forced to use primitive methods such as having to hire many moogles to send out the mail, but thanks to this Mist around the world, it's hard to get around, kupo!"

"Yeah, and it was easier when it was just one continent, kupo," Mene mused. "But what if I had a solution to fix the problem?"

The receptionist gasped with sparkles in her eyes, "You do?"

"He does?" The rest of us asked.

Mene then pointed to all of us, "We have these guys that can help, kupo; it's the reason why I came here with them, kupo."

Before anyone could protest, Mogilana flew up to us and started shaking our hands frantically as she thanked us.

"Finally, kupo," She exclaimed. "The boss will be so happy that you came here, kupo! Please come inside the mail room, kupo!"

We were finally urged behind the front desk by the happy moogle receptionist and into the door leading into the next room. And what we saw was worse than what Mogilana stated.

The larger room was swamped with a flurry of paper and several moogles flying around, panicking and yelling "Kupo!" like it was the end of the world. Ironic that I felt that way, but it was the only thought that came to mind when describing this room the way it is.

All I could see were different kinds of wooden cuckoo clocks, all with different times on them all on the ceiling, carts of mail being moved around with no direction and crashing into walls. In the middle of the room was a large machine with gears and conveyor belts, but I could see nothing moving.

"Many moogles flying," Quina stated, getting dizzy from how fast the several moogles moving, "Too many..."

"Actually, there's only about five of these moogles around," I said, looking around and keeping track of each one that flew back. "They are really working overtime."

"I bet the boss could use these guys in Tantalus," Zidane said, trying to get some humor into the mix. "With that speed, no one would know their stuff missing for a long while."

"Well, well, we meet again..."

Amongst the chatter of the moogles, one of them stood out and walked over to us clad in his golden armor. I smiled at the familiar face.

"Stiltzkin, you're here too?" I asked.

"Yeah," the armored moogle replied. "I had problems with my mail, the same as all the other moogles on the outside. I really had to get them to several of my friends, but now I know the problem." He turned around and showed off the large machine in the middle. "The machine broke down and we need some kind of mechanic that specializes in fixing up gears. I actually thought I had to use this substance I found called Superslick, but there's faulty gears stopping the process."

"That's it?" Zidane gasped.

"Why not get?" Quina asked.

"You do realize how stubby our little arms are?" Stiltzkin told us. "Even if we could get them, none of us are that skilled to fix up the gears like new."

Vivi pondered that for a while, "Maybe we can do something after all..."

"Really?" Mene asked.

"Yeah, it's kind of like the synthesis shops back in Lindbulm," the Black Mage stated. "If we can get the gears to be compatible again, Mognet Central's machine will work once more. I can use my Fire Spells to melt parts of the gear and we can use Quina's fork to make it tough and the right size. I actually have seen enough to know what do."

We all pondered that for a bit and then nodded, "That could work... since I know the skills as well," Zidane said. "But we're not exactly synthesis workers, and this place isn't well built for this kind of thing, so it'll be a tricky process. Even though I'm a little good with machines, especially when it comes to taking it apart..."

"But we got a shot..." Stiltzkin stated. "Come on, let's find Artemecion..."

It wasn't that hard getting past the fast moving moogles and going up the stairs to reach the top. Once there, we were in a small office. Nothing much to say since all there was stacks of mail in front of a desk, having a sleeping moogle on it. The difference with this one was that it had a white and purple striped fur pattern on the body that was very shiny for some reason.

"Wow, never seen a different colored moogle before," Vivi said in awe.

"Very strange color," Quina stated.

"Yeah," Stiltzkin sighed as he walked over to the sleeping mail-moogle. "It's actually because he used some of the Superslick on himself, giving his fur that shine. The purple stripes... not sure how he got those; long as I knew him, he's always had that."

"Weird that he's like that because of some weird oil," I noted.

"Hey Artemecion!" the golden armored moogle shouted, springing the mail-moogle awake.

"Whazzuh?" Artemecion mumbled as he woke up from his slumber. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and then looked up at Stiltzkin while yawning, "Oh... hey Stiltzkin... listen, I can't deliver any mail right now, but..."

"No, no, it's nothing like that." Stiltzkin interrupted as he pointed at us. "We finally can help you with your machine problem. They may look like rugged fighters, but I can assure you they can fix the mailing machine and be able to get Mognet Central up and running again."

The purple striped moogle bugged out, "You serious?" He then turned to us. "Can you really fix the machine?"

"We sure can," Zidane said, giving a thumbs up. "Just as long as we got what we need to put the finishing touches..."

"Kupo!" the mail-moogle cheered. "Alright, I'll go inform the staff!" He then fluttered his wings and zoomed out of his office.

"And there he goes, kupo," Mene sighed. "And just wait until the others..."

"KUPO!"

We heard much cheering from outside of the office coming from the moogles.

"They sure are happy," Vivi chuckled a bit.

"Maybe we get reward for job done?" Quina wondered.

"Maybe," I replied. "But first, let's do what we can for fixing that machine..."

* * *

><p>Once we got into the next room, needless to say we were receiving praise the moment we got down to the previous room. The moogles that were flying light speed were patting us on the back and thanking us for helping them. Artemecion was able to get some order by having them leave the room while we got to work.<p>

Hours went by as we did the process of fixing the stuff...

First, Zidane and I were removing the faulty gears from the machine after he unscrewed them and they were indeed heavy, feeling the weight in my hands. The problem with the gears was that some were indeed oddly shaped, which we sure didn't get. But after we were done, it was time for Vivi to get to work.

Using my cestus, I held on to each gear as the young black mage started using his fire to burn up the gears. I could feel the heat climbing and was grateful my hands were not burnt in the process.

Then, Quina used her fork to start hammering the gears which sent sparks of fire out. To avoid burning up our surroundings, Vivi used his Blizzard spells to make the floor icy, thick enough so we would not slip. Once done, we laid the gears in a large, steel bucket filled with water to cool off.

After some time, I took the gears out of the water, and we overlooked our work. I can honestly say we had done all right thanks to Zidane's and Vivi's guidance. But still, there was the moment of truth and that was to put the gears up in the right places.

Quina and I started placing the gears up one by one in their original places, and each of them fit like a glove.

"Looks like we did fine," Vivi stated.

"Just one more thing to do before we can say we did fine," Artemecion said as he held up a silver bottle.

"What's that stuff?" I asked.

"I brought some Superslick!" He exclaimed. "With this oil... it'll grease up these new gears of yours and then get this machine working; just get ready to turn that machine on when ready..."

"Are you sure you got enough," Zidane said. "I heard about your 'other uses' with that oil."

The mail-moogle paled, and looked the other way. "I told the others not to talking about that... I just wanted a soft coat of fur..." He then turned back with a calm expression, "Don't worry, it's enough just watch!"

Artemecion flew over to the top of the machine where there was a small funnel and then poured the Superslick around the outside. We saw a slimy-looking, bronze colored oil leak down the gears all the way to the bottom. After he stopped pouring, he looked to us and said. "Pull the lever on the side..."

Quina being the closest one walked over to the lever in question and pulled it towards herself. Once done, the gears slowly started turning altogether and after some time, they turned faster and got the conveyor belts working out. The next thing we knew was mail dropping from the ceiling and into the funnel. Then, the mail came out of the machine and onto the conveyor belt which came out ready to be sent.

"Alright, it works!" Vivi cheered.

"It works!?"

Suddenly, the doors burst open to the moogles that were in the other room and quickly surrounded the machine, checking everything. Then...

"Yes!"

"Mognet Central is saved!"

"We can deliver mail again!"

It was like the whole moogle population was in celebration. But I can see where they were coming from. In the game, they were scattered around the world. Hell, a few were even in Terra trying to figure out how to do it. Quite frankly, Mognet was how anyone stayed in touch for those who didn't travel. And given the timeline this is set in, it had to be the only way the moogles had communications.

"Alright, everyone!" Artemecion shouted. "Happy that the machine's up and running, but we got work to do! Let's get that mail sorted and delivered! Kupo!"

"Yes, kupo!" the moogle workers shouted in reply while getting back to their stations. They took the mail, packaged and sorted them in the right places before setting up to be shipped. Even with the overhauling, they were in the full swing of doing what they loved.

Then the head mail-moogle came to the rest of us and made his peace. "Thanks again for all your help with the machine, kupo!"

"Gotta say, we were lucky that two of us knew what we were doing," I said patting Zidane's back and Vivi's head. "Otherwise the rest of us would have been lost..."

"It was nothing," Vivi said, rubbing the back of his head in modesty.

"Don't sell yourself short," Zidane stated. "We combined our efforts here in the end; just most of the brains came from the two of us."

"Good we help," Quina nodded. "Now we can stop Kuja!"

"Right," I said as I turned to Artemecion. "We can't stay long; we have to put the final touches on our own thing now."

"Anything dangerous, kupo?" the mail-moogle asked.

"Yeah, but we survived a lot worse," I waved off. "With us and the rest of our friends, we'll pull it off no questions asked."

"Otherwise, planet destroyed," Quina blurted out, causing Zidane, Vivi, and I to gasp and quickly cover her mouth. Artemecion gasped as well, not believing his little ears.

"Uh, disregard that last part..." Zidane quickly said. "It's been great helping you, excuse us!"

With speed that neither of us possessed anymore, I picked up Quina and the rest of us bolted out of the door to escape awkward shock that the Qu created.

Still, we need to get to the Iifa Tree and stop Kuja's path of destruction before all life ceases to exist.

* * *

><p>I'll end it right here so I can start off clean for the impeding climax chapters!<p>

Next Time: We head for the Iifa Tree, preparing to enter that portal above it. (Scene of the Iifa Tree and the floating portal above it)

But Kuja sent in the welcome wagon in the form of Terra's Dragons! (Scene of an army of Silver Dragons)

Can the Invincible handle it all, despite being Terra's ultimate battleship? (Scene of the Invincible fighting off several of the dragons)

Would be nice if some help arrived... (Scene of many shots taking out the dragons from an unknown source)

Next Time: Sky Battle! Push Through to the Portal!

Please Read and Review! Later!


	7. CH 62: The Time is Now!

Duelist of Dawn: Oh yeah! I'm here and I'm in the final stretch of the story!

*Audience cheers and applauds loudly*

DoD: After this chapter, I can probably see at least 6 chapters left going into this thing planning the battles and the epilogue afterwards. Not only that, I'm thinking of alternating stories to give both sets of fans the satisfaction; and I got to remember Machina's coming back for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

DoD: Now start the chapter! Oh Yeah!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 62<strong>

**The Time is Now! Break Through the Barrier!**

* * *

><p>"<em>Everyone! Can you hear me?<em>" I called over the intercom. "_We're getting close to the Iifa Tree! Get yourselves ready for anything Kuja throws at us! It's time to end it!_"

Pretty soon, I saw a few people had come to the bridge having heard my announcement.

Zidane ran up to my left side, staring up at the incoming view of the Terran tree. Dagger stood by his side, a look of sheer determination of her face as she gripped her weapon. Steiner stood at attention at the back of the room, tensed up yet kept his hardened look in an attempt to hide it. Vivi sat at the front of the bridge, watching the monitor like a child watching cartoons.

Thicker Mist started to fill up all corners of the monitor the closer we approached our destination. Moments later, I saw that same purple light glowing in the distance. I knew it would end up being the portal that eluded us before but now we could go into thanks to the defeat of Ozma.

It went without saying that tensions were at an all-time high as I could easily see into the others' eyes. The others didn't know what we were getting into, and even if I explained it, I may change what could happen. Yet the bottom line was we need to come out of this alive, otherwise Kuja's going to get what he wants and that's a universe that won't exist.

I then felt a pat on my shoulder, looking to Zidane.

"You alright, bro?" He asked.

I smiled slightly as his term for me after his emotional turn of events at Terra, "Not entirely, but everyone else is the same way... As much as I've started to learn about this airship, there's only one way to attack. If something comes to attack, we have to hope nothing too bad happens."

"I guess we're all scared of what's to come," Dagger stated. "Even if you told us what's going to happen, Ron..."

"Yeah, even though I know some idea," I told her, "There's something that may change... probably figured them out right about now."

"The most important thing is that we can count on each other once it starts," Lovrina smiled. "So no need to worry..."

Vivi had looked away from the monitor and saidd. "We're going to be alright; I just know it."

My thoughts turned to Vivi and Eiko; being the youngest among the group, we shouldn't even have them go through this. But they have reason...

Vivi, being a Black Mage, had been discriminated because of what his predecessors during Brahne's siege of the Mist Continent. Everyone in the opposing countries had tried to heckle him or even tried to kill him just because he was a Black Mage. But before the Black Mage Village, he was the only one with thoughts and feelings that could process everything around him. So, it was right for him to fight... he was using his magic to save lives with necessary deaths.

Eiko, before I had come here, was all alone because of how Garland destroyed Madain Sari leaving only a few survivors who were able to have a family. Garland trying to save his own planet took out the only threat that would oppose him, not caring for the lives of the planet he wanted to assimilate. Thankfully with my coming here, she had a sister to look after her by a stroke of luck but their whole clan dying out also fell on her and Dagger with those three being the last.

No one answered Vivi. Instead, Zidane gripped the railing tightly and let out a breath. "Get ready!" he shouted. With a sweep of his hand, he ordered the ship forward, towards the light. We soared, flying towards the final battle and Kuja's new palace.

Light swirled around the purple orb. It spun ahead of us, larger than even Ozma. I watched nervously and cautiously as it never emitted that light before. When we were close enough to see the Iifa Tree through the impossibly thick mist, the defenses went into overdrive.

It was like Terra made a comeback when the army of Silver Dragons that flew the orb with loud roars. At first, it was only a few to drive through... no big...

That grew to hundreds... that was going to be a problem...

Which grew to thousands... we were in serious trouble...

We all had watched in horror as we saw the Silver Dragons swarmed us like bees, cutting off a possible escape. They covered the sky, blocking the sun which had added to the problems with the Mist blocking the vision, having to rely on my Aura Sight. We could have fought back possibly, but I always remembered that the Invincible attacked from the bottom only with many attacks with that giant eye. And there were no other alternatives that I found while controlling this airship. Some battleship this turned out to be...

"Can we fight against an army of those Dragons?" Steiner asked. "Ron, is there any ways of attacking?"

"We would have to get them to go towards the bottom," I replied, "It's the only way we CAN fire off something."

Zidane grumbled, "Man, this airship has to suck for us..."

"Here they come!" Dagger cried out.

The first of the swarm of dragons approached our main deck. They reared their heads back and prepared to launch the collective attack. We had to brace ourselves as I decided to make a move...

"Hang on!" I shouted as I moved the Invincible downwards, and ducked into the Mist. For a time, I felt no impact from any of those attacks and assumed that the dragons' shots had failed.

However...

I felt a hit that made us all lurch forward...

A red light flashed in the bridge and an alarm blared throughout the ship.

"What the hell is that?" Zidane said, plugging an ear to combat the alarm.

"A red alert!" I said. "We've been hit!"

"Well, get us out of here!"

"It's going to be hard to do when we got numerous enemies on all sides," Lovrina stated. "We can go lower, but we can't hit the water!"

"What are we going to do about the dragons?" Zidane asked.

"Without any weapons and defenses up front, we're done for!" Steiner stated.

"Damn it all!" I said. "I think they know that because they ARE Terran Dragons! Smart as all Hell!"

"Then find some way to get the ship around," Dagger said. "I'm turning the ship around. We're gonna have to go back and ask Lindblum for help after all!"

"We can't!" I shouted. "The longer we take; the more dragons Kuja can pop out. We need to stop him here and now! Otherwise they may go after world and destroy it that way!"

The moment I finished my sentence, the dragons bombarded our ship with their breath attacks. All of us were knocked to the ground and struggled to regain our footing against the shifting floor. Several warnings appeared on screen, showing Silver Dragons on the hull of the ship, trying to claw their way in.

"We need to shake them and retreat!" Zidane said, pleading with me.

"Look out!" Dagger shouted, pointing to the monitor.

Zidane and I stared up at the monitor in unison to see another dragon just outside our ship. It had another attack already charged in its mouth, ready to fire. We all held our ground as best we could, waiting for the impact.

And then the dragon exploded.

We all stared at the screen for a moment as it wavered from the shock of the blast. Thousands of dragons were still flying around, but now they weren't paying attention to us. Many of them had diverted and were making their way towards something to our starboard side. I had the screen turned to that locations and expanded it to investigate what the dragons were flying towards now. There was a collective cheer of relief from what we saw emerging from the mist.

The entire Lindblum Air Fleet.

I grinned, _'Score!'_

Cannons fired, burning the air and destroying several Silver Dragons with each blast. The monsters burst into flames and fell from the sky, clearing the way for the Invincible. Regent Cid stood on the bridge of the Hilde Garde III, which rose high above two rows of a dozen battle airships coming in. I recognized them as the Viltgance class airships approaching from the south, while another dozen approached from the east. Each of them was armed to the teeth with several cannons, and each one of them was firing into the dragon swarm with great power. Thankfully, with the return of the Mist, the airships still with Mist engines were fully functional and able to fight! It mattered not if the steam powered ones were up!

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Hilda Garde III)<p>

"All ships!" Regent Cid hailed to his entire fleet. "Clear a path for the Invincible!"

"Gwahaha!" Baku laughed from behind Cid. "Can't let those guys steal the whole show for themselves! That boy was in way over his head as it seems..."

Cid appreciated Baku coming to tell him about the impending attack and silently thanked Zidane for giving the inadvertent message...

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible)<p>

"Uncle Cid!" Dagger called out, running up to the screen. "Why…? How did he know to show up here?"

"Probably because of Baku," Zidane spoke up, now calmer than ever, "I told him about saving the world, and I guess he decided to get Cid in on the fun"

"You what?" Dagger shouted, looking angry. "Zidane, I thought we agreed not to tell anyone about this!"

"Dagger, we should be thankful for this," Lovrina said, "If they didn't come at this time, we probably would have died!"

"But…"

"Worry about it later!" Zidane interrupted. "Ron, get us through those dragons and then head for that orb!"

"You got it!" I shouted as I gripped the railings.

* * *

><p>The Invincible sped forward, breaking through the dragons' defense line. We bashed through several of them as they tried to regroup through the confusion. Cid's airships continued to pummel every dragon in sight while the dragons spun around, unsure whether to target Cid's fleet or us.<p>

However, a small group of them decided to follow us as we made a dash for the portal. An alarm signaled that we were being followed, and a small window popped up on screen. About a dozen Silver Dragons were closing in on us fast.

"Heads up, gang," I said. "These guys still want to play! We could fight those off since we got time to get above them..."

"Hey, what's that?" Vivi asked, pointing to the smaller window.

The Silver Dragons were wiped from the screen and a thick red wall replaced them, canceling the warning light.

"What was that?" Dagger asked.

"Open a rear view on screen," I told the Invincible.

The airship heard my command and opened a small window on screen again. This time though, we got to see the entirety of the ship that saved us. It was an airship I last seen when its former owner took over Lindblum...

The Red Rose.

"The Red Rose?" I asked. "That's not a battle airship, is it?"

"No, it's just a luxury airship," Steiner replied, "But..." He gasped in realization, "Could it be… Beatrix?"

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Red Rose)<p>

"General Beatrix!" Kohel, Knight of Pluto's third shouted over the groaning engine noises. "We can't take much more of that. Our ship is about to burst!"

Beatrix stood on the rear balcony of the Red Rose, watching dragon after dragon plow into the side of the airship. They had managed to deflect and distract the monsters following the Invincible, allowing Lindblum's air fleet to blast them down. But there was another wave coming in from the distance and the Red Rose was not a battle airship. They could die here and now...

"Do not fret!" Beatrix ordered with authority and pride. "Your captain is in a far more dangerous situation. You are a Pluto Knight! Now act like one!"

Blutzen, Knight of Pluto's second, stood by and muttered to himself, "We all know you came here because you were worried sick about Captain Steiner…"

"Did you say something?" Beatrix shouted, doing a bad job hiding her blushing face. But still she had to think, "Be careful, Adelbert..."

* * *

><p>"What's Beatrix doing here?" Dagger asked.<p>

"I guess it was because Lindblum called Alexandria for support," I figured, "That or they found some way of knowing..."

"But..." Steiner was still in shock that Beatrix came, "Why did she come? She knows the Red Rose is no match for these things..."

Zidane just laughed, patting him on the back. "Quite a woman you fell in love with," he teased. "She had to be worried for you..."

Steiner just scoffed. "You're one to talk!"

"Wait a second!" Dagger said sharply, glaring at the Pluto Knight Captain. "Steiner, what's that supposed to mean?"

Rather than answer, Steiner turned and walked to the front of the bridge to watch the monitor, trying to avoid the princess' harsh gaze.

"Yeah, wrong choice of words," I stated, holding back a laugh.

"Ron, the dragons are being held off for now," Lovrina said. "Get us in there before they regroup."

"You got it," I said. "Hang on!"

* * *

><p>I sent the Invincible above the Iifa Tree at at full speed. We crashed into the purple orb, hitting a wall of energy. We all felt the impact that made us jerk backwards, which didn't happen before. Knowing that I was almost there, I decided to push on through to get inside no matter what. With a yell of triumph, I pushed the airship through with all my might and mind could muster and I was able to push through to the other side of the orb and into the last destination...<p>

* * *

><p>Or so we thought...<p>

Inside, was just an endless void of light and there was nothing in any direction.

"Hey, what gives?" Zidane shouted.

"This is where Kuja is?" Dagger wondered.

"No," I stated, trying to rack my brain for an answer. "There's gotta be another defense Kuja setup in this spot..."

"Do you remember what it is?" Vivi asked.

"I got an idea of what it will be..." I replied. "And it relates to those Silver Dragons..."

Steiner groaned, "Another dragon?"

"More like an army, probably," Zidane stated.

A warning light flashed once more and the screen had popped up, showing the rest of us what was coming towards us...

"Try a huge dragon..." I explained from the screen's description, "An even bigger dragon than every other dragon we've seen so far..."

The dragon was a pitch-black scaled with a long nose like a ship's bow. And like all of Terra's dragons, its wings were feathered and white with red tips. But this time, it had four of them instead of the traditional two. And like the screen showed before, it was coming for us at full force...

"Brace yourselves!" I shouted as everyone had gripped onto something.

The next thing I saw was that dragon sending out a white wave of electricity at us, hitting the airship with a Shockwave attack. We were jerked backwards once more, but kept our footing and we looked to see the Nova Dragon roaring back at us fiercely. I finally found the thought in my head that told me to move it, flying the airship away from the dragon.

"Looks like he wants to battle," Zidane stated, "And I would be more than happy to kick his ass!"

"But that dragon's just as big as the airship," Lovrina stated. "Not to mention anything it hits us with may cause our deaths..."

"Haven't stopped us from taking on more monsters with a height advantage," I replied in contrast. "But then again, I got an idea..."

"What's up?" Vivi asked.

"It's going to rely on our Summoners," I said, eyeing Dagger and Lovrina briefly before returning to the screen to evade the Nova Dragon. "We may be so small that we'll get crushed with one minor mistake, but the Eidolons are a different story..."

The Summoners gasped, "Of course!"

"So, we have them exit the airship and then bring out their Eidolons," Steiner figured. "But there's no footing in this void!"

"But there has to be a chance that we could float in here," I continued. "Or find some way to get on top of the airship to do it, but that's even riskier..."

It was hard to test out that if the girls could float in this space while evading this dragon at the same time. But I knew that I couldn't run away forever...

"We're going."

I heard Lovrina say that, causing Dagger to gasp.

"You serious?" She asked.

"We should trust Ron," the ninja/Summoner said. "If he thinks we could float in the sky, it's worth a shot. Otherwise, we can at least summon our Eidolons that could fly to catch us and return us to the Invincible in time and then let them fight."

"Right..." Dagger said, almost in a whisper. "It would be helpful if we could summon Ark to help... But how are we going to get by unnoticed? Surely, the Nova Dragon would know if we would come out."

"That's just it," I said, gaining their attention. "I'll ram the ship into the thing and then that would keep its attention on us and you girls can Summon every Eidolon you want to. Just get ready to teleport down the moment I hit the guy."

Lovrina smiled and nodded. She then turned to Dagger, "Let's get Eiko and then get ready; we'll leave the rest to Ron and the Invincible."

"Alright," Dagger nodded as she and Lovrina exited the cockpit.

"Stay safe out there, girls," I said to myself as I turned to the screens.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Invincible – Interior)<p>

The Summoner Girls were assembled near the teleporter, figuring out the next plan of attack.

"Alright," Lovrina said, "I'll go out first, that way I can test the area. If I can get an Eidolon out to combat that dragon long enough to give you the chance to get down there, Summon your Eidolons, and help out."

"But how can you us tell if we'll be able to float or not?" Dagger wondered. The Carol sisters giggled at her comment, "And why was that so funny?"

"I'm surprised you forgot what else she can do," Eiko smirked.

Making a ninja sign, Lovrina shouted, "Shadow Clone!" Appearing next to her in a cloud of smoke was another clone of Lovrina, in the same stance as the original. "This may look the same as my regular Clone Jutsu, but I assure its not. The original Clone Jutsu creates a clone, but illusionary. The Shadow Clone Jutsu creates a solid clone with its own chakra coil system. Not only that but once it is dispelled, all of the information the clone has learned transferred to me."

"So, the clone can Summon your Eidolons, too," Dagger asked.

"That's correct," Lovrina's clone replied as she walked over to the teleporter. "I'll be back with the news."

Soon, the clone went down the transporter with the Summoner Girls awaiting...

* * *

><p>(The Void) (Play Influence of Truth Appearance from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time)<p>

A light flashed from underneath the Invincible, signaling the transporting process from the airship to the outside. The symbol didn't show itself underneath, so when Lovrina's Clone came out she was directly underneath and close to the airship. Once done, she found herself dropping fast and the airship and dragon passing her underneath. She was happy that the dragon didn't notice, but had to act now. She bit her thumb, drawing the blood and then ran through her hand signs and chanted...

"_Priestess of the healing arts! I need your aid! Come, Asura!"_

In a giant puff of smoke, emitting from the clone's hand, a tall woman sitting on a large sword and scabbard. She wore a white cloak and had four arms. And the most bizarre part about her was that she carried three faces on her head; the front was a calm face, the left side was a happy face, and the right side was an angry face. The side faces had their eyes closed, while the front had her eyes open as she caught Lovrina's clone in her hands.

"_My Lady..." _She asked, awaiting the command.

"We have to destroy the dragon, harming our friends in the airship," Lovrina's Clone stated. "Since I know that any of us will fall into the void once transported, I can dispel the clone and tell everyone. Do what you can to fend off that monster while I'll tell the others."

"It shall be done," Asura nodded.

The clone nodded back and yelled, "Dispel!" Once shouted, the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke and Asura unsheathed her sword and prepared for battle against the dragon.

* * *

><p>(Invincible – Interior)<p>

Back near the transporter, the Summoners were awaiting the clone's news. Lovrina suddenly opened her eyes in surprise and then gave a knowing smile, which Dagger and Eiko caught on.

"What's up?" the youngest Summoner asked.

"We're going to have to focus on Summoning as soon as we transport," the eldest replied. "We won't be able to float in that void. If I have to, I'll transform into something that can fly so you can have something to land on and focus."

"Otherwise, we'll have to do it while dropping towards who knows how what's at the bottom," Dagger noted.

"Also," Lovrina interjected, "I have Asura out their fighting the dragon, so we don't have to worry about it attacking us for the time being."

"Good, then let's get out there!" Eiko shouted as she ran towards the transporter, going down.

"Let's hurry," Dagger said, being transported down next.

"Hopefully, the Eidolons can destroy it..." Lovrina said to herself as she followed her clanswomen down the transporter.

* * *

><p>(The Void)<p>

One by one, the Invincible's transporter had released Eiko, Dagger, and Lovrina. All of them had started dropping towards bottom. Remembering the words of Lovrina, Eiko and Dagger pulled out their flute and racket respectively and began the processes along with Lovrina.

(Play Zelda's Song from Orcarina of Time)

Eiko played her flute, its tune creating a rainbow-colored portal and unleashed her best friend; the Eidolon, Madeen. Madeen held out her hands and caught her friend.

"_Conqueror of the skies, inhabit this land to rule them once more! Rise King of Dragons, Bahamut!"_

Dagger called out and waved her racket to create a fiery portal and then let loose the massive dragonic Eidolon. Seeing her mistress dropping into the void, it quickly flew to her aid and she landed on his back.

"_Winged maiden! Sing your song of death upon my foe! Fly forth, Siren!"_

Using the blood still left over from her last Summoning, Lovrina went through her hands signs and created another portal, letting loose her own friend. Siren soon caught Lovrina in her arms.

"Let's get to Asura, quickly," Lovrina shouted.

"_Got it,"_ Siren replied as she started flapping her wings towards the ensuing battle.

"Bahamut, follow them," Dagger shouted, pointing the dragon towards Siren. Bahamut roared slightly and flew after them. Madeen already got the heads up and followed Bahamut with Eiko riding on her back.

Currently, Asura was floating around like a bee landing several slashes to the massive dragon's body. But it looked as if none were doing any damage, as it kept taking the blows yet moved normally. Soon, it lashed out its tail at the triple-faced Eidolon. Asura caught on to this and used her blade to block the hit, sending her flying backwards...

Only to be struck by the dragon's long nose on her back, swatting her like a baseball. That's when Asura's calm face and her angry face had switched expressions, increasing the pressure.

"_Multiple Swords!"_ She called out as two more swords appeared in her upper hands while the lower hands held the giant blade. She then crossed her three blades, intent on attacking her enemy and blocking whatever came next.

The Nova Dragon raised its foremost wings and then flapped them down with a powerful force, sending a slashing wind towards the Eidolon Queen.

"_Shell!"_ Asura shouted, casting her defensive spell and creating a white, sphere-like cocoon that blocked the slashing winds. Once done, she stormed up to the Nova Dragon and struck it in the face with its small swords and stabbed its underbelly with the bottom, sending it flying back with a loud roar but not enough to pierce. However, the triple-faced Eidolon was feeling fatigued. _"It is a tougher foe than I thought... Lady Lovrina needs to return soon..."_

"Asura!"

The Eidolon's face turned to her happy visage as she heard her Mistress return. Soon, she saw the three Summoners fly right in front of her with their Eidolons offering aerial support.

"How are you?" Lovrina asked.

"_As well as I can,"_ Asura replied. _"This dragon is far more powerful than anything we've faced; I doubt even Shiva's powers could help you match it. I tried my Blizzaga spells, but it can withstand the force."_

"Anything you recommend," the ninja/Summoner continued, being wary of the dragon.

"_With the six of you, you can outnumber him enough to destroy it,"_ the three-faced Eidolon answered. _"My time is spent..."_

"Alright," Lovrina nodded as she held up a hand sign, "Dismiss!"

Asura disappeared in a puff of smoke as the three Summoners and their Eidolons stared down the Nova Dragon.

Nova Dragon made the next move, unleashing another Shockwave attack. Seeing this, Bahamut, Siren, and Madeen covered their bodies with their wings, and were pushed back by the shocks.

After making sure his Summoner was safe, Bahamut counterattacked with two consecutive slashes to the face before moving away to escape the tackle. Madeen saw her chance next, slamming both fists on top of the Nova Dragon's head, making fly downwards. But as soon as it dropped its head, it quickly lashed its tail out at the Holy Eidolon but having the foresight to dodge before she got the worst of it.

"It'll keep counterattacking whenever we hit it," Dagger shouted to Eiko and Madeen. "Let's hit it whenever it's not looking at one of us!"

"Got it!" Eiko replied.

Soon, Bahamut tackled the dragon, causing the Nova Dragon to counter with a swipe of its own claws. Seeing that, Madeen hurried over and started a flurry of kicks on the dragon's back. Reacting to it, the Nova Dragon tried using its wings to swat away at the annoyance, only for Madeen to fly around them and started more of its kicking.

"Siren, now!" Lovrina called out, to which her partner nodded.

"_Lunatic Voice!"_ The Eidolon called as she used her harp to start playing an enticing melody. Soon, golden waves had emitted from the harp strings and reached out towards the unsuspecting dragon as it continued to swat away at the other two Eidolons. Catching sight of the golden waves, Bahamut and Madeen made their getaway and flew off. Soon, the waves surrounded the giant beast and started shocking it with white waves similar to the Shockwave attack.

Dagger looked at this... now was their chance...

"Bahamut, Mega Flare!" Dagger called as the Dragon Eidolon started charging the flames from within its mouth.

Eiko realized it too and followed up, "Madeen, Terra Homing!" The Holy Eidolon's hands started glowing bright white and charged up energy.

But right when their attacks were fully charged, the Nova Dragon growled menacingly and started glowing itself. Before anyone could react, the monster dragon roared and unleashed it a tornado around itself to free itself from Siren's attack.

"What!?" Lovrina and Siren gasped.

The tornado then moved towards the three Eidolons, closing it at high speed.

"Fly away, quickly!" Eiko cried as the Eidolons did just that and head away and to higher ground. At a safe distance, the tornado had past them by... but was still on the loose... towards the Invincible...

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible)<p>

The warning lights and sounds went off again as Zidane, Steiner, Vivi, and I saw the tornado closing in.

"Time to fly guys!" I shouted as I turned my thoughts to the airship, "Evasive action!"

Using the bars, I maneuvered the Invincible away by turning hard right and then flying straight. I kept up at a safe distance so I wouldn't lose the girls and the Eidolons in my sights. But still, I had to make sure I was positioned so I could use the only weapon this airship had. Hopefully, the girls could weaken it or even finish it off before all that...

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (The Void)<p>

Seeing the Invincible escape the large tornado, the Summoners sighed in relief; they could now fight without worrying for the safety of their friends.

But once they turned back, the Nova Dragon was right on top of them!

Gasping, they had no time to evade or defend as the dragon rammed into all three Eidolons and caused them to be disoriented in mid-air. Siren had held Lovrina close to her, but Dagger and Eiko had to hold on tight to their Eidolons' backs, trying not to fall off. Once the Bahamut and Madeen were upright, the girls were safe. From then on, everyone was keeping their distance from the wary Nova Dragon who was poised to attack again.

"You girls alright," Lovrina asked.

"Yeah, that was close..." Eiko said, breathing heavily.

"What are going to do now," Dagger asked. "No matter what we do to it, it can take the hit and counterattack us back."

"Not to mention it is wise to us having the Eidolons use their powers," the ninja/Summoner mused, "Sounds like Kuja somehow has a smarter dragon and somehow taught the dragon about our strengths."

"Then we should get the other Eidolons to help somehow..." the youngest Summoner stated.

"But that would be over taxing our mental strength," Dagger warned.

"It's better than waiting for that thing to kill us," Eiko argued. "And then after us, they'll go after the airship!"

Lovrina gasped, "That's right; the airship! It still has that one weapon..."

"But it can only attack from the bottom..." Dagger gasped in realization. "Of course..."

"What?" Eiko asked. "What are you two talking about?"

"The Invincible can destroy that dragon," Dagger stated. "Meaning, we should just focus on keeping the dragon distracted on us and weaken it!"

"And with its attention on us, Ron can take the chance and use that 'eye's' power to deal the final blow," Lovrina added. "So, I think we can chance summoning other Eidolons for now... I can only keep Siren as I my others can't fly... I'll cover for you until you can get them out."

"Right..." Dagger and Eiko nodded.

"Siren, let's go!" Lovrina shouted.

"_Okay!"_ the Eidolon replied as she flew towards the Nova Dragon, determined to see the battle through.

Seeing the duo come at it, the Nova Dragon's wings raised and it roared menacingly. But that did not deter its enemies from advancing, so it prepared to counterattack.

"Now!" Lovrina shouted. Soon, she leapt out of Siren's arms and moved towards the dragon's back. While the dragon saw her, Siren flew in front of its face to catch its attention with a smirk. The Terran dragon started swatting at her like a fly, leaving Lovrina on its back. She charged up her chakra and then went through her string of hand signs and then finished with a shout: "WIND ART: AIR DRAGON MISSLE!"

Jumping up in the air, Lovrina pushed her hand in front of her and then caused the air around her to become visible and then making a form that surrounded her body; a serpentine dragon that looked as if it became visible and then faded away every second.

Looking at the exchange, Dagger and Eiko saw their chance and stood on top of their Eidolons.

"Let's summon now!" Eiko said.

Dagger nodded as she focused her thoughts, knowing the perfect Eidolon to use against a dragon.

"_Queen of ice, avert the enemy with your grace! Come forward, Shiva!"_

The blue portal with snow flurries opened from the sky, letting out the icy blue female eidolon.

Eiko played her flute, focusing her thoughts into her magical energies, knowing the only Eidolon she could use in this place.

(Play Bolero of Fire from Ocarina of Time)

"_Sacred beast of the flames! Bringer of life! I call upon thee, Phoenix!"_

Shining from a red light, the rainbow colored bird Eidolon came out and flew over the Eiko and Madeen.

"Wait for our signal and strike with your best moves," Dagger called out, keeping her eyes on Lovrina. "Just charge your attacks and wait..." Shiva and Bahamut nodded.

"Once Lovrina and Siren gets out of there, hit them with everything you got," Eiko added. Madeen and Phoenix nodded as well.

Back to the dragon, Siren kept up the evasiveness for more time until she's losing stamina. _'It's almost time for her to use that move...' _But as soon as she was in range, the Nova Dragon was able to catch Siren in its claws which had her almost screaming in pain. However, she still held out to shout, "NOW!"

Seeing the urgency, Lovrina had to act fast, "STRIKE!" Pushing her hands forward, the serpentine dragon roared and then launched itself at the Nova Dragon's back with a mighty chomp. And with that chomp, the dragon exploded into thousands of sharp air currents that surrounded the beast and making it cry out in pain, releasing Siren in the midst of it. The Eidolon was able to fly in fast enough and catch Lovrina just in time.

"I'll head for the Invincible to grab the others," Lovrina shouted to her sister and surrogate cousin. "Hold it down until we come back!" Once she saw the affirmatives from them both, she nodded to Siren who then headed for the Invincible.

"It's our turn!" Dagger cried, earning the looks of Bahamut and Shiva, "Attack with all your might! Diamond Dust, Shiva! And then Bahamut, attack with Mega Flare!"

The Eidolon of Ice raised her hands up high, charging up a large amount of energy inside. Once it reached its peak, Shiva blew the energy of Diamond Dust in her hands straight at the unsuspecting dragon and hit the mark. Once there, ice started to pile up on the dragon's body, while pushing it back a little. But by some stroke of luck, the wings were missed as the Nova Dragon tried to stay aloft despite having its movement restricted.

That's when the Dragon King Eidolon stood up to fire next. After Shiva launched her energy, Bahamut was already in the process of doing the same as his power charged within his mouth. With a white flash, he fired his Mega Flare attack and fired dead center in the back. The ice had shattered, but the Nova Dragon had been pushed downwards once more and trying to fight the Dragon King's attack.

"Madeen, trap him with your power," Eiko said to her longtime friend, and then turned to the Rainbow Eidolon of Fire, "And Phoenix, you'll attack after her!"

Having learned of her command, the Holy Eidolon had begun to gather the energy in the palms of her hands. Connecting them with electrical surges, she let the orbs fly towards the Nova Dragon until it stretched out into a giant net that wrapped the dragon.

Seeing the web being launched, Phoenix started flying right after it. Once the Nova Dragon was caught in the net, Phoenix stopped right on top and then started flapping its wings rapidly with small red sparkles being released from the feathers. With a great call, the sparkles ignited into a massive flame which caused the net to explode into massive amounts of Holy energy which combined with the fire, made it devastating for the Nova Dragon to take.

"Now, we just have to wait for Lovrina to tell Ron to get the ship over here," Dagger said, "And for once, we'll use the airship to defend this world..."

"We are," Eiko replied, "Remember who's piloting the thing?"

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible - Cockpit)<p>

From the distance, I watched as the girls and their Eidolons had fought the massive Nova Dragon in a back and forth battle. Luckily, the battle shifted into the girls' favor as they began bombarding it with a great force from the Eidolons.

"Alright, they're bringing the business!" Zidane cheered.

"Now they need to just finish it off," Vivi added.

"But I don't think it's that easy," I said, looking directly at the Nova Dragon while the others looked at me.

"What are you talking about," Steiner asked. "They clearly have the upper hand!"

"And you guys know how powerful these things are from Terra," I countered, "Not even the Eidolons could beat someone like Garland or Kuja, Madeen and Bahamut fell to them respectively." I could see the guys having looks of sorrow once they knew I was right, "They can hold on, but they'll have the limits... meaning..."

"... You'll have to fight fire with fire!" A voice called out from behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see...

"Lovrina?" Vivi asked, seeing the eldest Summoner and my girlfriend.

"What's wrong?" Zidane asked also.

"Ron, you need to get that airship and use its power while we have it at a lower altitude that the dragon's." Lovrina pleaded. "I know it's got to be the only way to beat it!"

"Right..." I said, "That was the plan, too..."

"Then get to it, man!" Zidane said, slapping me on the back. "Let's kill this thing and find Kuja!"

"Right!" I shouted as I will and controlled the Invincible to advance over the Nova Dragon.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (The Void)<p>

Currently, the Nova Dragon was still under fire from Phoenix's constant push of the flames against its back. It didn't hurt it much, but the force was strong enough to keep it from moving in any direction to escape. The beasts it was fighting were complete annoyances to come into its domain. It wanted to kill them and hold nothing back...

And that's when it got the idea to save itself, stop the flames, and kill the intruders all in one go...

The plan was set, and it started glowing bright blue and growled in a low voice...

The two Summoners were looking on as their Eidolons kept up the pressure, and saw the Nova Dragon glow that bright blue color...

"What's going on?" Eiko asked as she looked on worriedly.

"I don't know," Dagger replied, feeling worried as well, "Can't you tell what that monster's doing with your horn?"

"No, all I know it's not even alive," the youngest Summoner replied.

"'Not even alive'?"

"I can't explain it, but it feels like this dragon wasn't exactly born by normal means. An artificial heart that is not feeling..."

Dagger couldn't help but understand, despite the lack of her Summoner's horn.

The Nova Dragon let out a loud roar that snapped everyone into alert and saw the dragon's body was fully glowing.

"Something's coming!" Dagger shouted.

And it did...

The Nova Dragon flapped its wings once, sending the blue color to the top of its body. Once there, it started to expel a powerful force that culminated into a giant mass of water, most specifically a gigantic Tidal Wave! The girls gasped in horror as the crashing waters extinguished Phoenix's flames and pushed the Eidolon back.

"Oh no!" Eiko gasped.

"Quick, keep it down there!" Dagger quickly commanded.

Soon, Shiva decided to spear head the attack as she dived straight for the waters and pushed her ice magic onto it and tried trapping it. With the girls hanging on tight, Bahamut and Madeen took Dagger and Eiko where the Nova Dragon was underneath the freezing waters. However, it was still pouring on the assault and challenged the ice as it and the water pushed back and forth. The Dragon King Eidolon had decided to strike now by getting underneath the Terran beast and then launched a flare from its mouth into the underbelly.

Madeen then added another web of Holy energy to help Shiva trap from the bottom. Still, the water was pouring through and it even crashed into Bahamut and Madeen and shocked the girls when they felt their Eidolons take in the pain.

"Hang on, Bahamut!" Dagger shouted, trying to will her Eidolon on.

"Madeen, please keep it inside the web!" Eiko pleaded her best friend.

They both were proud that their Eidolons were fighting through the pain to keep the Nova Dragon at bay, but worried all the same as they had to endure it all.

But soon, it would be alright as they heard a sound in the air...

Dagger and Eiko looked up and gasped happily as they saw the Invincible closing in over the ensuing battle...

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible - Cockpit)<p>

I saw the Eidolons doing their job in keeping the Nova Dragon encased, but I could still see it having some kind of advantage in exhausting its attackers. I had to act fast...

While on the way towards the battle, I had told Zidane how to control the Invincible because I knew I had to be the one to use the main weapon in the very back...

"Alright, we're here!" I shouted, and then turned my head to the Genome. "Zidane, take the reins!"

"Gotcha!" He nodded as he took my place at the helm.

"As for me, gotta blow that dragon to Hell!" I grinned to everyone, "Just make sure everyone gets out of there in time!"

That's when I made a mad dash towards the back of the airship, passing the teleporter room, the resting rooms where the others were currently hold up at, and then I was able to reach the room with a deep, red energy pool. I peered into the pool, thinking of all the deadly things this power has done. Madain Sari, Alexandria, the battle at the Iifa Tree... all devastated the people within them with only a few survivors. Narrowing my eyes, it was now time to use this power to help my friends...

I gripped the nearby handles from outside the pool, letting my Aura charge inside...

Red energy gathered within my hands and sent into the handles...

I noticed some weird arrows being lit up from inside the sides of the pool, until all of them were charged...

Finally, I saw the large symbol of Terra glowing inside the pool and brightened up...

"Destroy the Dragon!" I shouted, "Spare the others!" And with a mighty roar, I let loose the energy in a bright red flash...

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (The Void)<p>

From outside, the girls just saw the red eye of the Invincible starting to flash and knew exactly what to do next...

"Everyone, fly away!" Dagger and Eiko shouted as Bahamut and Madeen stopped their attacks and then flew away towards the top of the Invincible to escape the oncoming blast. Shiva, however, kept the ice coming towards the Nova Dragon in order to keep it steady. Dagger was saddened, but they knew the Nova Dragon would escape if she stopped, and though Shiva would go back to the realm of Eidolons.

The next thing they saw was cannon being unleashed and fired. Shiva smiled as she prepared to take the blast head on, knowing she would be in the next world. When she took the blast, it was instantaneous and painless.

The Nova Dragon felt every bit of that power going through its body, letting out an agonizing cry before a massive explosion took over and a bright flash enveloped the void...

Little did they know the void was starting to clear and form into a different realm...

The final destination...

The final battles...

* * *

><p>This is it guys, next chapter starts the final arc!<p>

Next Time: We reach a new place within the void (Scene of a tall, ancient castle that seemed to be still forming)

Inside we see many events of the past taking place (Scene of the gang looking at the interior of the castle in awe)

But it is not without its dangers (Scene of two silhouettes of figures staring down the group)

Next Chapter: A Place of Memories: Memoria

Please Read and Review! Later!


	8. CH 63: A Place of Memories: Memoria

Duelist of Dawn: Happy Halloween everyone! Bring out the candy, bring out the costumes!

Machina: And bring back the right hand man!

*Audience cheers and applauds loudly*

DoD: Alright Machina! Ready to take the kids out for the candy?

Machina: Sure, they're waiting at the spot right now.

DoD: Cool, the chapter ready to load. Give them the Disclaimer and let's be out.

Machina: Remember dudes, The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

DoD: Now start the chapter! And remember to brush your teeth after eating the candy! Don't eat too much either!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 63<strong>

**A Place of Memories: Memoria**

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Invincible – Cockpit)<p>

Once the void, had cleared due to the defeat of the Nova Dragon, the Invincible and its inhabitants were flying above a pathway made of cobblestone leading up to a castle so tall, mysterious, and simply amazing. Towers interlinked with other towers, all different from each other as there were several types of designs adorning the building, and with several themes. There were more modern towers of today, others from the past, and ones that were not created yet. The entire castle seemed like it was composed of nothing but towers, climbing higher and higher within itself, and it was still continuing from the looks of it. Below it was an endless city, with buildings overlapping and interlinking with each other with no pathways.

"Wow," Vivi whispered as he looked at the castle in the screen, seeing the how the clouds covered the sky, but stayed away from the castle which had a bright light shining above it.

"The castle is amazing," Steiner said in awe, "Did Kuja create this?"

"He did talk about making a castle for an eternal kingdom," Zidane figured, "But he left out the part about us being pillars to decorate it..." He shrugged it off though, "But hey, we can still give him a housewarming gift..."

"Zidane..." Lovrina sighed. "All in all, we've reached the breaking point of our journey."

"Hey, where are we?" A tired voice called out, causing the four of them to turn around. They saw Lani, Freya, Amarant, Quina, and Choco entering the cockpit, all looking like they woke up from their rest.

The Qu stretched out her arms and then subconsciously licked her lips, "We there yet?"

"Take a look," the Pluto Knight said, showing them all five of them the screen. They were just amazed by the sight of things as the others were.

"So that's Kuja's stronghold," Freya stated, now with a face filled with determination. "But how did he create this?"

"He's got a lot of power now," Lani figured, "I would not be surprised at the least..."

"You know, I'm surprised you guys slept through all the commotion outside," the Genome stated, "We got rammed by dragons and then felt a little aftershock when we got into this void."

"We were pretty much knocked around during the commotion," Amarant replied, rubbing his scalp through his red hair. "Ron's a lousy driver..."

"Well, it was Ron who saved us all," Lovrina pointed out, "He went to the back and dealt the final blow, while Dagger, Eiko, and I went outside with the Eidolons to hold off this monstrous dragon."

"I wonder how he's doing," Vivi said worriedly, "With how much that blast was to destroy the dragon, he has to be exhausted."

"Well, where is he?" Freya asked, looking just as concerned.

"The very back of the airship," Steiner replied, "He used the weapon underneath the airship to deal the final blow which got us here; and it was as they said, powerful enough to exhaust him."

"Well, let's go see the guy," the bounty huntress exclaimed, "The guy's probably on his back, trying to get some air."

With that, the gang decided to head towards the energy pool room to see their friend...

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Invincible – Interior)<p>

Once the gang got inside the next room, they saw that Dagger and Eiko had teleported inside the airship, both trying to catch their breath.

"Hey girls," Zidane said walking up to Dagger, kneeling down to place a hand on her shoulder. "Nice work out there..."

"Thanks," She replied with a tired smile.

"You okay," Lovrina asked Eiko, helping her up.

"You know, I'm tougher than I look by now," the youngest Summoner smirked. "Otherwise, I would ask you the same thing."

"At least you and Dagger came out of that explosion unscathed," the eldest Summoner replied. "I'm glad that you two are alive."

"We flew to the top of the airship when it happened," Dagger said. "Ron really had full control of the airship."

"I flew the airship while he had to finish off the dragon," Zidane pointed out.

"Now we got to see Ron," Vivi stated. "It may have exhausted him..."

"We're all worried, Vivi," Freya replied, "But we all know he's alright..."

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Invincible – Energy Pool)<p>

After putting in my Aura power into the Invincible to destroy the Nova Dragon, I did feel a little tired. I was leaning over the pool, broke a sweat, and was catching my breath.

"Something tells me, I put too much into that one," I told myself and then turned around to sit on the floor, "But damn, I put that sucker away. I hope Dagger and Eiko got out of the blast in time; otherwise, I'm gonna hate myself after this."

I sighed, closing my eyes.

"You shouldn't do that..." A feminine voice called out.

Opening my eyes, I saw Zidane, Lovrina, Vivi, Steiner, and especially Dagger and Eiko.

"Hey, I got my wish..." I said, leaning against the pool with a sigh of relief. "So, we're all good."

"Definitely," Zidane grinned, giving a thumbs up, "But what about you? You look like you wore yourself out..."

I grunted as I stood up on my feet, "I used up more energy than I thought, getting that giant dragon out of here." Stretching out my limbs, I asked, "So, did the void clear up?" But when I paid attention to them, I saw a look of shock on their faces, which confused me, "What? You know I know what's going on back there..."

"It's not that," Lovrina interjected, "But... um... do you feel any different?"

Raising an eyebrow, I looked right in front of me and flexed my limbs to make sure nothing was detached from the inside, "No... I still feel like I'm all put together and look likes nothing happened besides a little exhaustion. What's going on?"

"Well..."

"Let me answer for her," Zidane said, walking up to me. "Ron... Do this..." He then pointed to his tail, which started waving and twisting around.

I looked at him like he was crazy, "Dude, I don't have a tail; how the Hell I'm supposed to..." I then tensed up when I felt something touching my back and my left leg, looking shocked and scared all of a sudden. "Zidane... what was that?"

He sighed and said, "Just feel around the small of your back..."

Getting even more scared, I did as he said and felt the small of my back with my left hand. And that's when I felt it; something smooth, silky, and long when I touched the base and then followed it. That something was moving upwards as I kept feeling on it. The next time I saw my hand, I had completely paled in the sight of what I was holding.

A tail...

A tail similar to Zidane's...

A tail that was now attached to my body...

"Oh damn..." I could only say as I let go of my newly acquired tail and saw it 'waving' at me. I then said, "I always knew it would happen..."

"So, what now," Amarant asked from the outside, bluntly I might add, "You're gonna hide here in fear of your new tail?"

With that statement of alone, made me rethink quickly and turn my state of shock into a state of cockiness.

"I'm shocked, Amarant, I truly am about me having a tail," I told him, crossing my arms, "But I'm not one to let it affect saving the world now..." I scoffed, "Hell, I was joking about having a tail after absorbing the rest of Eclipse. But I should have known it was inevitable..."

"You sure are taking this well," Freya told me from the other room as well.

"I'll have time to freak out when this whole thing is over," I shrugged as I tried to find my balance, feeling my tail swinging from side to side, "Not to mention I will have to adjust with this tail for the rest of my unnatural life."

"And it ain't so bad," Zidane grinned, patting me on the back, "Now I got another Genome on my side..."

"Half-Genome," I corrected as I started walking towards everyone else, "I'm still human-born... so, let's just get on with finding Kuja; let him say his peace, and then bash him upside his head."

The Genome shrugged, "You guys heard the man; I already got this thing hovered over some pathway..."

"Then let's make sure you don't have any lousy driving like Ron did," Amarant scoffed as everyone started moving into the next room, except Lovrina.

"I always knew he cared," I sighed, "Just never knew how much..."

Lovrina then walked up to me, keeping her sights on my tail, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'll admit, I'm still shaken up about this," I said, waving my tail in front of me, "But what can I do about it? If I got everything that is Eclipse in my DNA, then I should have expected this. Not to mention it was his tail's remains that were absorbed in me first."

"I remember," She acknowledged, reaching out to my face and touched my left cheek, "But, it's still you..."

I smiled as I reached up to cover her hand with my own, "I will remember that part..." We gave each other a little kiss before making our way out.

And as we went out to the teleporter, we both noticed that my tail had decided to wrap around her waist with neither one of us minding the least.

* * *

><p>(Invincible – Interior)<p>

Lovrina and I saw that everyone was on the process of being teleported down, until only Zidane was left to see.

"Hey guys, get a move on," He waved us over before standing on the teleporter and headed down.

We looked to each other and nodded before going to the teleporter and went on down ourselves.

(? – Outside Pathway) (Play Place of Memoria from Final Fantasy IX)

* * *

><p>The teleportation of Lovrina and I went through smoothly as always. I could never forget that feeling of 'leaving' your body for a split second and found myself below the Invincible and behind the rest of the group. Thankfully, the pathway was bigger than I thought to hold 11 people and a chocobo. Otherwise, Choco would have to keep flying around to make room. I did notice that the cities around the pathway and the castle were lifeless as I saw on the airship. Having a closer look, they reminded me of the old civilizations where the houses were made of stone with no wooden doors or glass windows.<p>

"So, we're all here..." Zidane announced as he saw Lovrina and I.

"I gotta say... I love the scenery..." Lani stated, looking around. "Sort of..."

"We won't be entering the city as it seems," Freya noted, noticing no paths towards the bottom. "Although I wish someone was here to tell us about this place..."

"Then let's ask Ron," Eiko suggested as everyone turned to me.

"Sure, I got no problem explaining..." I shrugged.

But before that could happened, Zidane gasped and started looking around quickly searching for the source of whatever he heard.

"What's wrong Zidane?" Vivi asked.

He turned to all of us with confusion as he asked, "Did someone just call my name?"

I looked thoughtful, remembering what the game had done here, _'Oh right, Garland's spirit must be talking to Zidane...'_ I then raised an eyebrow, _'But why just him and not me; aren't I a 'Genome' too?'_

"No," Dagger replied, looking concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Maybe you're just hearing things," Freya suggested.

"I don't know…" Zidane said hesitantly. His head craned wildly a second later, searching for that sound again. "You hear that?"

"I hear nothing," Steiner said.

Zidane craned his head up once more a second later, and to everyone's surprise called out, "Garland?"

Everyone let out a gasp or a groan until Zidane silenced them. So, it was true still... Garland's spirit was still around and now he's telling his worthy Genome about this place such as how it came to be, what it holds; the bare facts mainly.

After another moment, Zidane lowered his head and looked at all of us. "You all heard me talking to myself just now, right?" Everyone nodded, including me. "I was just talking to Garland," He continued. "He told me that our memories created this place."

"Wait, what?" Eiko blurted out. "You mean _we_ made this place?"

"Well, it's not just us, I don't think," Zidane said. "Garland wasn't really clear, but he made it sound like everyone's memories on the entire planet helped make this castle."

While the others turned to the castle again, watching the particles build new sections around it, I got to thinking again. It wasn't just the people alive now that made this place, but every single person who ever lived, and there were still memories before that! That would me this place was like a huge recording station. The planet would be alive, no argument there since every planet was alive and Terra would be testament to that. If I never thought Earth alive at all...

"I guess we'll have to keep moving forward if we want any answers," Zidane said, walking up the long path to the castle. "Let's go guys."

Soon everyone followed after him with Lovrina and me bringing the rear.

"Does this place have a name?" She asked me.

I nodded, "It's called Memoria, a Place of Memories, like Zidane just said. And just about everything alive and that was alive has created this place by their memories alone." I turned to her, "Meaning that our memories could exist here in some form and the lives of someone we know."

"Even if you're not of this world," She wondered.

"Possibility since I'm a part of this journey," I shrugged. "Could be memories we just experience or some from our past. Then again, I got another theory about this place..."

"Yeah?"

"I remember what Zidane and I heard from Garland when we went to confront him... about Gaia and the Iifa Tree disrupting the planet's cycle of souls..."

* * *

><p>(Flashback)<p>

_As Garland flew in the next room, Zidane and I used the stalks as stepping stones to follow and reach the next room. We were inside of a darkened room, now surrounded by steel walls with inverted stalks on the floor, particularly the ones I was currently standing on. We saw Garland walking up a small, spiral staircase that leads to a platform. Past it was a picture of Gaia zoomed in on its center, which was dead red and spreading._

_"What is this place?" I asked._

_"Think of it as an observatory, a place to measure the radiance of Gaia and Terra." Garland replied._

_Zidane groaned, getting back into his unhappy mood, "What are you talking about? And what is this weird light?"_

_Garland pointed to the red part of the planet, "That is the center of the planet. The end and the beginning of the cycle of souls. The light remains Gaia's for now, but when the blue changes to crimson, all will belong to Terra and its restoration will be complete." He then reached the top and stared back us, "That is why I had Eclipse wrapped up the light in the Iifa Tree, to prevent the cycle of the judgment of souls on Gaia from inside the planet. Such is the Iifa Tree's true purpose, its true form. All you saw was its material form. The flow of Gaia's souls cannot be changed by stopping the disposal of the Mist."_

(End Flashback)

* * *

><p>"I remember playing the game, reaching this place so many times and I never figured it out before," I stated, keeping the memory of that event in my head, "Seeing it all together and in this place, that portal over the Iifa Tree, I think we're inside the very center of the planet."<p>

Lovrina covered her mouth and gasped, "You're serious?"

"If we're going experience everything that Gaia itself and its inhabitants have gone through, it has to be the truth." I replied, "Not to mention the Mist the Iifa Tree emits; the process the Iifa Tree goes through stops souls from going back into Gaia and transports to Terra or at least being discharged through the roots as Mist. In fact, that's why Kuja or Garland was never worried; there were two ways in stopping the cycle and sending the souls to the planet. The Iifa Tree had to be destroyed in order to save the souls."

"And if what you say about being in the center of the planet is true," Lovrina noted, "That's what Kuja is aiming for; he'll destroy the heart of the planet and eradicate it without anyone noticing. It's ingenious."

"Yeah, the guy may be a spoiled little brat now, but he's got a brain and uses it effectively," I had to admit. "And now that I'm thinking about this, I could have figured it out then if I wasn't worried about the entertainment of it all..."

"Then we should just stop it from being Kuja's enjoyment..." She stated. "And don't forget to tell the others once we get into the castle."

I nodded as we caught up to the others, and by then we had reached the doors to the endless forming castle. And just like Oelivert, they were big and too much for any normal person's hands to touch.

"Alright Ron," Zidane said, waving his hands towards the door, "If you would be so kind..."

"Yeah, yeah," I replied, as I went to press the gauntlets on the door. Then with a grunt, I pushed up against the door and it slowly gave in for me to open up. When I got it open enough for at least Quina to fit through, I stopped pushing. Afterwards, I felt fatigued a little bit. "Whew... didn't think it would be that tough..."

"But you got us in," Lani said, patting me on the back.

"And at least you're not losing your strength," Eiko added.

"Yeah, gotta love the upside..." I replied, stretching my arms out.

* * *

><p>Once inside the castle, it was no surprise about the inside of it. Stone carvings in the walls, pillars set precisely and a welcoming hall with a ceiling that was at least fifteen to twenty feet high. Light poured in from the caged windows, with wires hanging inside each pane in a floral design. It was exactly matched up with most of the outside due to the tower differences in age. We all kept walking through the hallways as we looked around...<p>

"Nice place..." Amarant muttered, with his voice echoing through the room. "Where's the welcoming party?"

"I suspect at the top," Freya replied, "After all, it is his humble abode in a way..."

"Actually it wouldn't..." I spoke up, "And for various reasons..." I then went on to explain to her and the rest of the gang about what I told Lovrina earlier.

"That would make sense," Zidane stated, "Nearly forgot about it, otherwise I would have said it when we were coming for you in Garland's castle."

"And even in the time we spent away from here," Steiner added, "Kuja could never construct this place in time for our arrival..."

"Unless he thought of it from a memory," Vivi figured, "But from what we've seen, Terra's places don't look like this or even Gaia's..."

"I no can understand," Quina sighed.

"Kweh..." Choco added, looking down.

"Yeah, it takes awhile to wrap around your mind," I stated, "There's so many plot holes within this story that were left out and then I just thought of how this came to be."

"But now it isn't a story or game, is it," Eiko pointed out, "We're real, remember?"

I smiled, "I haven't forgotten, Eiko. Just taking in all the revelations and whatnot."

"Then we should stay on the lookout for all the other surprises Kuja could send our way," Dagger deduced. "He could have those Silver Dragons flying around that came through here."

"I'm watching the windows," Lovrina noted as she looked to the large glass-covered windows.

"Ah," Freya gasped as she walked towards the wall and had us looking with her. The Burmecian Knight took a spear from the wall that was hanging there. It was dark blue and had a spearhead shaped like a dragon's tail. Freya looked at it in awe as she did some light thrusts and swipes with the new weapon before holding in both hands. "So, it does exist... Kain's Lance. Named from the legendary Dragoon, Kain Highwind."

I found myself gasping as Freya turned to me, "You know that name?" I asked.

"Yes, he used to hail from a kingdom called Baron," She replied, "But there were only stories talked about him.

"He's a Dragoon from a different time, place, and game that was created before this one back in my world," I stated as I looked around this place, "Then again, the Final Fantasy series do tie in with each other in some way... not to mention this place is based on a distant past."

"You mean this castle, or rather the inside of the castle, is based on Baron?" Dagger wondered.

"Could be..."

"I think we just press on guys," Zidane interjected, "We can do the grand tour while we're getting to Kuja..."

Taking the Genome's advice, we headed towards the next room...

* * *

><p>And that's when the castle ceased to exist by regular standards...<p>

"What in the world?" Steiner gasped.

"This is... impossible..." Dagger whispered.

"How the heck did this get in here?" Lani wondered.

The next room was larger than the previous room due to the added height and width; I would say about 50 feet high and wide to give an estimate. The path led us around the perimeter of the room while a fifty-foot pendulum swung left and right, close to us, avoiding the path by a couple of inches. The ticking of a clock echoed somewhere within the room, though it was hard to figure out the source when the echo was all around us. Not only that, the room was surrounded by large grandfather clocks. But I could tell that the sound wasn't coming from either one of them.

"It's like we're in the inside of a clock," Amarant said, watching the pendulum as we walked up the stairs. "Are we still even still in the castle?"

"I wonder how this castle got designed like this through someone's memories," Vivi wondered.

"It very weird," Quina said, looking in the middle of the stairway to see a window of light.

"You said it," Eiko sighed.

"Kwook..." Choco replied, keeping his steady steps.

* * *

><p>After reaching the top, and then the door beyond, we were let outside once more. But this time, it was night with no clouds covering the skies. I found it very strange since outside we were nowhere near time to be evening. I thought back to the previous room, and thought it may have been the inside of a clock with the hands of time moving rapidly to become nighttime. I shrugged it off as the rest of us continued to walk up more stairs and study the outside structure.<p>

It reminded me of a Victorian-era mansion, one I've read about in dark-setting stories. It was twisting around towers and windows, with nothing in sight until...

"Paydirt..." Zidane smirked as he came out from one of the towers and pulled out a Thief Sword of incredible craftsmanship. It looked like the blades were crystal being held together by the middle handle which was mythril. He took a few practice swings and combat stances before strapping it to his back. "Kuja, you are one unlucky bastard..."

"Make sure you hit him," I stated, "I know how big brothers like to mess with the little brothers..."

"Is that what you did with yours back home?" He pried.

"It was a mutual thing," I shrugged, "We fought sometimes, even played pranks on each other... but when the seriousness came about, we could count on each other."

"Just like you did for me," Zidane said, patting me on the back, "And I know you're still freaked about your tail..."

I sighed as I waved my tail to curl around my waist, "Yeah, but I'll get used to it... and don't think I'm not going back home just because of this..."

"Making sure; because then I'd have to find some way to send you back just for the embarrassment..."

I looked to him and saw that mischievous grin planted on his face. "Oh yeah, we're definitely 'related'." I symbolized the air quotes with my fingers before we headed towards a large bridge, underneath the darkened skies. In fact, I think were amongst the skies as I saw the clouds, or maybe Mist, but considering how high it looked. The rooftops of the castle and the surrounding area were seen, leaving an ominous feeling around.

"Alright, once we're across this bridge I think we can make it to the top," Zidane discerned.

"Really," I asked. He then pointed where the bridge connected to; the top of another castle. "I don't think it's that simple..."

"Of course it's not that simple," Amarant stated as he walked over to us, "This Bridge is too long, and this place is too silent..."

"I'm getting that feeling as well," Freya added as she looked over the area, "I wouldn't put it past for any attackers to ambush us..."

"But who," Zidane wondered, "We haven't seen anyone in this castle, even the past inhabitants... which we know nothing of..."

I had to ponder it as well, since it's clear that the monster inhabitants were never going to show up and that was the weirdest part of it all. Not that I didn't like an easy run of this place and just checking out the sights, but it was _too_ easy... I then gasped, _'Unless...'_

I heard the sounds of metal hitting ground from behind us, and we all turned around to see that pathway we took was cut off by a portcullis with the door closing and the rest of our friends closed off from the other side.

"What the Hell," I heard Lani shout, "What gives!?"

"And the other side is closed off as well," Freya pointed out as the exit was closed by another portcullis.

"It's a trap," Amarant sighed, "I knew it..."

Zidane and I ran towards the door, "Oh great, who could be trapping us now?"

"Well, I'm not about to find out with only the four of us," I said, starting to pull up the gates with my hands. But for once, my strength wasn't helping at all... "Come on..."

I then heard Lovrina gasping, "You're about to have worse problems!" She pointed out, as I looked over my shoulder...

Zidane, Amarant, Freya, and I were greeted by a portal made of pure fire opening in the middle of the bridge. I left the gates alone immediately and joined up with the rest as we got ready to brawl. And from what came out of the gates only half surprised me...

I saw a familiar face... or rather a familiar form... a powerful-looking Lamia, the face and torso of a woman and the lower body of serpent. However, instead of a fiery redhead with a red-skinned body and blue underbelly, I saw the six-armed lamia with red-orange skin on her humanoid side wearing only a strapless blue bra and a blue jeweled belt around her waist. Her snake part had purple scaled body with an orange underbelly. In each of her hands carried a blade similar to those that Arabian guards would wield. I looked to Amarant, I could see some form of disbelief in his eyes as he knew who this was...

"Marilith," He muttered.

She grinned as she showed off her pearly, white fangs. "Marilith is not my name, I'm afraid... Although I was associated with that name by kingdom long ago..."

Amarant flexed the arm that had his claws, "Don't give me that..." He growled, "Were you not the same Fire Guardian of Terra Lani, Ron, and I had to face?"

"I'm the very same, yet I'm so much more..." She replied, "The Marilith you faced at the Fire Shrine was just a shadow of the person you see before you..."

That's when it hit me as I stood up front, "You're the Fiend of Fire, Kary..."

"Correct," Kary hissed, "Ah, my real name finally spoken by my prey... seems like ages... I am the Fiend of Fire, Kary!"

"Kary?" Zidane and Freya asked.

"I thought you said her name was Marilith," Amarant added, looking at me, "Even with your explanations of the Four Fiends you called her Marilith..."

"I just remembered another name she went by," I stated, feeling the power of the Fire Fiend, "But I can tell you, she's not the same as she was in the Fire Shrine; she's definitely more powerful as I feel her aura, plus this is how she looked the first time she ever appeared."

"That game from your world, right?" the Burmecian Knight asked. "It's still hard to believe, but I can tell you are not lying..."

"Do you know how she fights?" Zidane asked me, but I knew he was directed it at Amarant as well.

"She's completely reckless, yet she's fast," Amarant said silently, "But if she's not the same, it may not matter... something entirely different may come to this fight." He then just stared Kary in her eyes, "For now, let's just kill this Lamia and get it over with..."

"As much as you would love to kill me," Kary hissed, "I'm not alone in this fight..."

"Huh!?" We all questioned.

"We meet again... though I can only say that to two of you, honestly." A male voice spoke. "I can tell I'm in for another proud battle..."

Everyone followed the voice to one of the rooftops; Amarant and I stared at the figure with a measure of surprise and respect.

It was the dark skinned archfiend Rubicante, still wrapped in his protective cloak that stood against the elements.

"Rubicante," Amarant stated.

"That's the Archfiend you fought at the Fire Shrine," Zidane asked. I nodded.

"And trust me, he's good... but I have to say it was more satisfying fighting him..." I continued. "Not to mention he's a noble warrior, so don't expect any underhanded attacks from him. He'll fight you straight up until the end."

"It is as he says," the Archfiend of Fire stated, "Though I only want the one you call Amarant to face me one-on-one..." He then pointed to the red-headed bounty hunter. "You bested me in battle last we met; and you recall, I prayed for another battle... now I that I am revived, I shall have it!"

Amarant smirked, "Alright then..." He then turned to us, "You three take care of the Fiend; I'll take on Rubicante alone..."

"You sure?" Zidane asked.

"I am..." Amarant nodded, "For the first time, I'm battling alone but not just for leveling the playing field or some petty grudge... I just want the chance to prove to him how much stronger I am..."

"Just watch your back," I replied, "He's tougher... his aura's shooting through to the skies..."

"Be careful," Freya added.

The red-headed bounty hunter nodded as he stood up on the bridge and started making his way towards Rubicante...

"Firaga!"

We gasped as we saw Kary unleash her powerful flames towards Amarant as he was in mid-air, unable to defend...

"AMARANT!" We all shouted as he turned to see the flames moving in on him, he looked fearful for his end...

But it never came...

In a quick jump, Rubicante stood in front of the flames with his cloak wrapped around him and absorbed the magic. It surprised Zidane and Freya, and shocked Kary to the fullest as Amarant landed safely on another rooftop.

"What the Hell are you doing!?" Kary shouted at the Archfiend. "You're not supposed to show sympathy to these worthless lower-life forms."

The Archfiend of Fire landed on another rooftop and stared down the powerful Fiend, "And as I said, I will fight this one... deal with the other three as you see fit..."

Kary growled as she then turned to Zidane, Freya and me. "Fine then, I will need someone's blood to wash my blades with... and you three will do just nicely... a shame that the others could not join for the same treatment."

"Dream on, snake lady!" the Genome protested as he swung his new weapon, The Tower, over his head before settling it next to him in ready stance. "I got myself a new weapon as well, ready and waiting to cut you down!"

"You're not the only one," Freya added, spinning Kain's Lance over her head before pointing the dangerous end at the Lamia, "And we'll be sure to destroy you for whatever evil deeds you have done in your past..."

Kary laughed as she crossed her swords, "You're welcome to fight and die trying... or just simply die!"

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Same time as the battle against Kary started...)<p>

Amarant and Rubicante stared each other down, both with the look of respect for one another yet the ferocity of the battle that was soon to come. But before the battle began, they exchanged words...

"So you're the same Rubicante from the Fire Shrine," Amarant asked.

"It's because only lived in one lifetime," the Archfiend of Fire replied, "Unlike the other who's lived in several..."

"How did you come to be alive again? Didn't I kill you back at the Shrine?"

"You did, but I was 'reborn' through this world's core... Just like Kary was revived from her original timeline instead of Marilith... and I was born from that same timeline, yet I survived..."

"And what is it?"

Rubicante smirked, "How about a little wager? You win, I'll tell you all I know and unlock the gate holding your friends..."

"I lose?"

"You die... After all, a life for a life and I intend to receive compensation..."

Amarant scoffed, "Pretty cut and dry, aren't you?" He then got into position, "All right, I accept... let's see how much powerful you've become..."

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (Play Fire [Instrumental] by Scooter)<p>

"Aura Sphere," I shouted, giving no chance for the Fiend to make the first move. Charging one orb of Aura in my hand, I then threw it straight at her face while charging another to throw after. Kary, however, slashed through the first, and pretty soon the second that followed.

"Is that the best you can do?" She taunted, casting her magic, "Firaga!"

"I don't know, tell that to my friends," I replied as I charged up my powers, "Aura Wave!" Both her high-level fire magic and my Aura Wave were launched by our respective weapons, and collided with an explosive force. "Zidane, go!"

Using the cover of the smoke, I saw Zidane leap in and started spinning his blade in hopes of hitting the Fire Fiend's flesh...

*CLANK!*

But from that sound, I heard nothing but metal hitting metal with the swords clashing. With the smoke cleared, I saw it to be true as Zidane's thief sword was caught in between four of Kary's swords with the other two up in the air. She hissed once more to bring the free swords down...

"Take this!"

Before anyone knew it, I saw a red streak shoot from the ground like lightning and struck Kary in the back of her head. The Fire Fiend cried out in pain as she let go of Zidane by the shock, trying to swing at whatever hit her and let the Genome come back and regroup with me. That same streak jumped off Kary and landed in front of me, revealing to be Freya.

"Damn, that was good," I praised her, keeping my eye on the Fiend. "Where'd that come from?"

"I used the cover of the smoke to jump away while she would focus on the two of you," the Burmecian Knight stated. "And thanks to blowing away the smoke, I could see where to strike."

"Nice," Zidane stated as he turned to me, "But we need your head to win this; how'd you beat her last time?"

"Amarant played on her anger, causing her to lose sight on making an effective strike," I replied, "Not only that, one of you need to get behind her and stay there to deal with her tail..." I turned to the Burmecian Knight, "And Freya you're it... make the first move and we'll follow."

"Right," She answered and with that she took off to the skies once again. Kary had followed her, making sure she didn't let what happened a minute ago happen again. However, Zidane and I charged in next to get the attention back on her so I shouted, "Aura Blade!" The Fiend snapped her attention back to us as I created the blades made of pure Aura, pulsating with power.

Kary was ready to strike as she ignited her swords with blue and red flames, fangs showing with her grin and slashed down. Immediately, I blocked the left side's swords and Zidane blocked the right side's perfectly. She didn't let up though as she then used two of her swords to cut, making us block, but let her third set slash a half-second later which threatened to chop us from the waist down. Quickly after the block, Zidane and I jumped and then pushed our feet together and rolled away from the lamia; she had countered us perfectly despite missing her chance to kill...

But it didn't stop there...

Freya was still in mid-air when it happened; she managed to steer clear of Kary's body and her blades but the Fire Fiend's tail caught her by the waist and then slammed her into the bridge with a loud crash.

"Freya!" Zidane and I shouted.

"Your turn!"

We looked back to see Kary about to resume her hacking and slashing, making Zidane and I dodge and block all we could to evade.

'_Damn, she truly is different than when I fought her at the Fire Shrine,'_ I thought, _'It really is the Fire Fiend from the past...'_

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Amarant vs. Rubicante)<p>

Amarant and Rubicante hopped from their respective rooftops and jumped on to same one in the middle and began their close combat. The Archfiend effectively blocked and dodged each of the bounty hunter's claw slashes, punches, and kicks while dealing some of his own in the process to which Amarant kept his guard as well.

"You'd better block when I really try to hurt you," Amarant boasted.

Rubicante flashed a quick smirk before getting a left kick to Amarant's chest, sending him sailing towards his previous rooftop. Using the spire on top, Amarant grabbed on to it and held himself in place.

"I was going to say the same thing," He grinned, "Fira!" He quickly raised his hand to launch a wave of flames.

"Demi Shock!" the bounty hunter called as he raised his clawed hand to launch the dark electricity to counter. Once the two powers collided, it created the tell-tale gravity energy orb that kept expanded the more energy was put into it. Thinking fast, Amarant threw a coin of gil into orb and made it implode.

Near the end of it, both fighters met each other in mid-air and started the close brawl once more. When they landed again, they were in a struggle for a test of strength. Amarant was first getting the upper hand as he was able to push his foe hard enough toward the edge.

"You really think you can push me over like that," Rubicante taunted. Amarant gasped as he now felt himself being pushed back easier than he did Rubicante. "I have far more strength than you can image..." But before he could reach the edge, the pushing stopped which shocked him, "I can't..."

Amarant quickly pulled his arms down and slammed Rubicante to the ground, shocking the Archfiend. He tried to follow with a claw to the head, but Rubicante rolled out of the way as he sensed the danger he was in. The Bounty Hunter followed with a kick, but the Archfiend recovered with a headbutt to the chest to push him back.

It was at a stalemate then as both did not lose sight of the other as well as breath. Rubicante found himself smiling...

"I'm impressed," He stated, "You've grown as well..."

"You weren't lying yourself," Amarant replied.

"In fact..." Rubicante then removed his cloak and turban, revealing his bald head and sleeveless red armor underneath, "I remember you don't use magic; so my cloak has no use here... doesn't mean I can't use my flames to restore my energy if necessary." He then tossed them over to another rooftop, letting them hang on its windmill.

"So all handicaps are off," Amarant smirked, flexing his claw arm. "Good... then allow me to up the ante for you..." He then started to concentrate in his mind and charged his inner power while shouting, "Aura!" Then an energy spike appeared around him like a sparkling flame.

"Aura?" The Archfiend asked.

"Let's just say the more you wait around, the tougher it will be to take me down," the Bounty Hunter stated.

"Very well..."

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (VS Kary)<p>

Kary was having our numbers as Zidane and I kept up on our toes, not to be sliced and diced by her swords. She then suddenly caught me with a giant whip of her tail, knocking me on my back. She then did the same to Zidane, taking his legs from up under him and made him fall face first.

"Firaga!"

With a roar, Kary launched a large spread of flames at me and Zidane as we both looked up to see it happen...

"Take cover!" I shouted as I got on my belly with both of us ducked down and covered our heads with our weapons, making sure none of the flames touched our hair and skin. We then jumped up to our feet and charged at the Fire Fiend.

Kary bent down and tried to slash at me with all of her swords with one go, but I was able to dodge by sliding down to my knees and held up my guard with my gauntlets that didn't give in to being cut. The lower and middle swords hit me while the top clashed together, due to my lower height now. Zidane took advantage by using my right shoulder and then the crossed swords as stepping stones and dealt a spinning slash of his own to the Fire Fiend's face, leaving a gash from her mouth to the right-side cheek. It made her cry out in shrieking pain. The Genome landed in front of me and looked back with a satisfied smirk and a thumbs up.

"Nice work," I praised. Of course, in that same moment, Kary lunged back with a snarl on her face, blood dripping from the wound. I had to grin and point out, "That's good look for you..."

"Damn you!" She hissed loudly as she started slithering faster, but I noticed the recklessness of her charge which got me ready and hopefully Zidane saw this as well.

"Check this out!" Zidane shouted as he pulled something from his pocket and then threw it into the sky, which got her to look upwards at the object. I saw it was some kind of bomb, getting me to wonder why he threw it up there and not at Kary. But using that chance, I jumped and landed a dropkick to her face that made her arch back and stop her slithering... "Ron, shield your eyes!" I heard Zidane as I landed on the bridge. I quickly did as I was told, as I figured out why he wanted me to do so.

I heard a light explosion from the sky, and then I heard Kary shriek once more, followed by something metal drop several times.

"Open them!" Zidane shouted next, as I opened my eyes and saw what he did. The light explosion I heard turned out to be a flash bomb, creating a blinding light which made Kary's eyes burn. The Lamia was currently using her upper hands to clutch her face while swaying to and fro, answering the sound of something metal seeing two swords on the ground in front of her.

"Turn her around!" I heard a female voice call out from behind her.

Zidane and I quickly looked behind Kary and we gasped happily at the sight. Freya was now standing up, a little battered from the slam she endured...

"You're okay!" I called.

"Get her, quick!" She interjected, getting my mind back on the battle. I then ran up to Kary and then decked her in the face with a massive right hand, great enough to turn her around and uncover her face. I saw Freya smirk as she started glowing dark green, "Dragon Breath!" She inhaled deeply and then exhaled a mountainous amount of green mist into the face of Kary, increasing her everlasting pain. And then the icing on the cake, Freya launched herself in the air and then cut across Kary's chest followed with a kick to the face to push off and land near us.

"Damn, that was brutal..." Zidane whistled.

"Necessary for what she did to me," Freya smirked.

"Well, we're not looking so fresh ourselves," I told her, "So do you mind?"

"Reis' Wind," She called, twirling her lance above us to create a calming wind around us. "Better?"

"Very..." I smiled.

"Yeah, because it's not over," Zidane pointed to the rising Lamia, who was wiping the mist from her face.

"You worthless ants," She screamed, "How dare you attack me that way!?"

"You're in the way," Freya pointed out, "So by any means necessary, we'll remove you from our path..." She then turned to me, "I guess she's not so different in using the anger to the advantage."

"And I think I got another way," I said, just now coming up with a plan.

"What's that?" Zidane asked.

"Freya and I will keep up the pressure on Kary..." I looked to Freya, "If you can get behind her again, we can get a pincer attack to keep her in one place, plus chop off that annoying tail," Freya nodded and then I turned to Zidane, "I need you to run to the others and tell Vivi and Dagger to get some ice ready, if you catch my drift."

"You got it..." He said, as he started running off.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV) (Amarant vs. Rubicante)<p>

After Rubicante removed his turban and cloak, and Amarant built up more of his power with his Aura technique, the fight resumed.

"No Mercy!" Amarant suddenly fires a shining white orb from his right palm. Rubicante gasped, remembering the attack that defeated him the last time and quickly dodged the attack. Not taking his off him, the Bounty Hunter threw several razor disks but they all missed the Archfiend of Fire and he suddenly disappears from sight. Amarant widened his eyes and started looking around.

"Look above you," A voice called and Amarant quickly looked up to see Rubicante floating on top. "Disappointing... Inferno..." Amarant didn't have time to counterstrike and is caught up in the unforgiving flames as it creates a tornado that cuts numerous times on his skin and clothes. The Archfiend looked at his work with acknowledgement and disappointment, hearing his foe's screams and taking in the embers to heal himself. "Very disappointing; I thought you would last longer than that... But I guess..."

"Aura!"

Rubicante is surprised as he heard Amarant shout his new power, and suddenly the Inferno breaks apart! "What!?" Then Amarant suddenly charges in mid-air and tackles the Archfiend hard, sending him crashing into a tower. He then tries to fire a No Mercy, but Rubicante charges back and send them into another tower before jumping on top of another. "Firaga!" He then launches another flame blast and surrounds himself within in it and charges toward Amarant.

"Demi Shock!" Amarant shouts, firing the electricity into fiery Rubicante, creating a struggle and the gravity orb. Seeing the orb being created, Rubicante drops out of the flame and lands on a tower. The gravity orb and flames implode, leaving both Amarant and Rubicante stunned of one another's strength.

Amarant manages to stand up, gradually healing because of the Aura.

"So you have become stronger," Rubicante says.

"Only because I need to help save this world," Amarant replied. "You're the surprise, but I'm glad this is happening..."

He's suddenly caught off guard when the Fire Archfiend raises his hands, building up a flaming aura and then flexes his arms so that his hands are inches apart. The aura is collected in between his hands until it is gone. He then looks to Amarant and shouts, "Scorch!" He then lets loose a huge storm of flames as he thrust his hands out. It hits Amarant dead on, leaving him screaming out as the tower he was on was destroyed and he was rammed into a castle wall.

On instinct, Amarant drove his claws into the wall to keep himself from falling to his death. He barely managed to get to a safe place to land when he sees, Rubicante firing another Scorch attack. Thinking fast, he jumps his left and managed to push off some of the attack but still gets hurt in the process.

At the last moment, Rubicante jumped into the air and fired a flame blast at Amarant. But at that point, Amarant used the windmill to spin and jump towards Rubicante, dodging the attack and reaching them. They started brawling in mid-air while dropping to the ground, soon pushing each other off when they found they were close to more towers.

"No Mercy!" Amarant shouted, firing another white orb, only to be deflected by Rubicante. _'Damn, I have to catch this guy off-guard!'_ Suddenly, Rubicante knocks him into another tower. The Archfiend lands and quickly starts to charge up for his Scorch attack once more. Amarant quickly looks up and watches the attack. _'A weak point... I need a weak point in the attack...'_ He gasps as he sees the flaming aura being collected into Rubicante, _'There! I need to him now!'_

"Scorch!" Rubicante shouts as he fires the attack. Amarant quickly spins on the windmill and jumps to another to dodge the attack and lands behind the Archfiend.

"No Mercy!" Amarant shouts, firing his attack at close range with Rubicante looking behind him in shock. The attack hits home, striking the back and sends him into the tower, where his cloak and turban laid, utterly defeated. Rubicante weakly looks up at the victor as he says, "It was foolish of you to do that attack a third time. By then, I knew the weak point."

Rubicante laughs weakly as he tries to regain his strength, "Good man... you win... Now you can finish me off..."

Amarant raises his claw hand high, ready to do so...

But then stops right when the tips of the claws would make contact to his chest, confusing the Archfiend... "What are you waiting for... you win..."

"No..." He replies, "I've already proven I'm the better man... I just want you to keep up your end of the bargain..."

Grunting in pain, Rubicante says, "Very well..." He raises a right hand to snap his fingers. "You're friends have access..."

Amarant nods and reaches into his pocket for a potion and places it in Rubicante's hand, "Your fight is over; I suggest you get out while Kary gets hers..." He then starts making his way towards his friends, leaving Rubicante to stare at the potion in his hand.

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (VS Kary)<p>

Freya and I were still holding off the Fire Fiend with all our might, with all of us not giving in to fatigue. Kary still had the upper hand as she didn't let one of us behind her and kept whipping us back in front of her.

After another unsuccessful tactic, we regrouped while keeping our guard up.

"She's tricky," Freya stated, "She knows how to use her limited space; it may not matter if we get behind her."

"But still, we can get rid of that tail of hers..." I replied, "Just need to catch it..."

"Then draw her in, and I have your back," She says.

I nod as I started walking up to the Fire Fiend.

"Want more?" Kary taunted as she sliced her swords together. "Didn't take you all as gluttons for punishment..."

"Keep talking..." I replied as I charged right after her.

"You never learn," She hissed as she started fighting me off with her swords, and then I was successfully dodging and blocking each slash. Once I found an opening, I raced to the side in order to get behind. "Fool!" I heard her shout as I saw the tail coming for me. I stopped where I was and had the tail strike me in the torso. It left me a little winded, but I sucked it up and held on to the tail. Thinking fast, I jerked my body to the ground while still carrying the tail with a tighter grip. "Let go!"

"You're going to be 'letting go' of it in a minute," I smirked, "Freya, now!"

I heard Freya yell a primal scream before I saw her shoot down from the sky once more, stabbing the tail in the center and making Kary yell even louder...

"Damn you, bitch!" She cursed, "You struck my tail!"

"And you're going to lose it, next!" I shouted as I let go of the tail, now bound by Freya's lance, "Electric Blades!" I called next, morphing my arms into the thunder-based blades. With a shout of my own, I chopped the tail to the right of Freya's lance. It left the remains of what was attached to Kary, bleeding and having her flail around more... "Yeah!"

"That does it!" Kary shouted, as I felt a tremendous amount of magic being built up, "Firaga!" Freya and I gasped as she let loose a huge storm of flames at us. And there was only one way to dodge it as we decided to jump off the bridge at the last second. Freya held on to the rafters using her weapon for easy grip. I, on the other hand, found myself hanging by my new tail. But it didn't help that my gauntlets added extra weight, but I had to bite the bullet for now.

I looked over to Freya, and just like me, she had a tired and shocked expression on her face. _'Damn, we really pushed a button...'_

"That takes care of them," Kary hissed, "Damn insects, tore apart my tail... and they paid the price for it! Or will anyway..."

"Huh?" I whispered.

"Now to cut the bridge so that they won't have anything to hold on to..." It was then I was terrified as I saw Kary looking underneath the bridge and saw both me and Freya. "Hope you two enjoyed your lives!"

"Damn..."

"Bilzzaga!" I heard Vivi shout.

"Carbuncle, reflect it off of us!" Then, Eiko was next as she commanded.

"Shiva, Diamond Dust!" Finally, Dagger called out as I knew she and Eiko summoned their Eidolons.

Kary hissed as she quickly shot back up to the bridge, preparing to strike our friends.

"AAAAGGGHHH!"

But hearing her shout like that, plus feeling the bridge shake and the sound of something heavy dropping, I knew it came to an end as silence came next.

(End Music)

I looked to Freya and asked, "Sounds like everything's over?"

"It feels like it, too," She nodded. "But have to get up there and it's impossible right now..."

"Then Shiva will help!" I heard Dagger shout.

Soon, Freya and I felt the air get colder to make us shiver. Then Shiver made her appearance when she floated down and got in the middle to hold out her hands. We let go of the rafters and landed on her palms, letting her take us over the top of the bridge. We saw that everyone was safe and that they were able to unlock the gate that separated us. But the big thing we saw was Kary's fate: Her whole body was now encased in ice, even being pierced by several icicle spears through her arms, her stomach, and her heart that got me cringing a lot.

After some time, we decided to rest on the bridge and heal up our wounds. I took note of Amarant looking a little worse of the wear, being treated by Lani with her White Magic. I guess it comes in handy for her to know Black Magic, White Magic, and then having the physical power to fight up front. One hell of a Red Mage to have...

Dagger was healing Zidane's wounds, while talking about his hand in the fight against Kary, would do him some good in our teamwork.

Freya was being healed by Eiko, the former thanking the latter for the assistance.

I was being treated by Lovrina, her using some potions and salves to heal the burns on my exposed arms. I told her about the details she missed out on, and even told her how my new tail saved me from falling too far.

"Well, it became a blessing in disguise for you," She giggled softly.

"Yeah, and felt surprisingly more agile than normal," I stated as I wrapped my tail around my waist, "And I got some control over it, besides the instinct factor does help when something like hanging on to a wall or something."

"I'll remember it the next time your tail wraps around me again," She smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back before looking over to Amarant, "Hey, how'd your fight go?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" He asked bluntly. "Best win for me yet... Left him a potion for his trouble..."

Lani gasped, "Are you nuts!? What if he comes after us!?"

"He won't," Amarant replied, "He gave his word and from how we met him, he'll keep it... either way, he's no threat to us..."

"I can vouch for him," I added, "I was with him..."

"Sounds like an honorable warrior," Steiner mused.

"Must have been a nice guy even being an enemy," Eiko stated while Vivi nodded.

"That's more than I can say for the six-armed hellfire over there," Zidane scoffed.

"She not good person..." Quina mused.

"Kweehh..." Choco added.

"Well, we should be getting on our way..." Zidane stated as we all stood up. "Kuja may have more roadblocks on the way if he got the Guardians and Archfiends we've defeated before somehow coming back from the dead."

We all nodded as we walked across the bridge and past the giant ice sculpture that Kary was.

But as we reached halfway to the end, we felt an unbearable amount of heat in the area.

"Okay, who turned up the heat?" Lani muttered.

"Feel like boiling in giant pot," Quina added, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"KWEH!" Choco shouted as he started flying.

"Behind us!?" Eiko and Lovrina asked as we all looked back.

We gasped as we saw, Kary being thawed out by the ice and had a giant flaming aura around her that was visible even without my Aura Sight. In a stroke of luck, her wounds were still pierced so she had blood pouring from them. She was still fading, but she managed to turn around with burning eyes filled with rage as she shouted...

"It's over... TAKE THIS!"

She then ignited her swords with massive blue flames and with a dying, yet defiant shout she threw them up in the air shouting, "RAINING SWORDS!"

The Swords created a spiral, with the handles on the outside and made the points touch while flashing. Soon, they dropped like lightning bolts from the clouds and started bombarding the bridge in attempt to break it down while engulfing it in flames.

"Let's book, guys!" I shouted as started to rush towards the exit.

"BURN IN HELL!" Kary cackled as the part of the bridge she was on broke apart, letting her fall to her doom.

We all kept running as many of us reached the exit. I trailed behind as I started to see Quina lagging at the worst possible time as the bridge was giving away near her.

"We need some help over here!" I shouted as I reached out for Quina's hand.

"Hang on!" Eiko shouted, "Haste!"

Playing her tune, I saw my feet glow white right when I got the Qu's hand. Once I had a firm grip, I suddenly took off faster than the bridge being broken up. Everyone quickly moved to the sides of the exit as I skidded to a stop, but crashed on my back and ended up knocking heads with Quina.

"OW!" We both shouted.

"We all made it," Vivi exclaimed.

"Talk about cutting it close," Amarant muttered.

Quina and I groaned as we both held our heads from the throbbing pain.

"You guys okay," Zidane asked.

"I'll live," I groaned as Lovrina helped me up.

"Me too," Quina added, sitting up.

"Then let's go, time's a-wastin'," He said as he started walking into the next room. All of us followed, not knowing what would await us...

* * *

><p>Oh yeah! 10,000+ words! New record for this story!<p>

Next Time: After defeating the Fiends of Fire, the group reaches the next room. (Scene of Zidane leading the party into a new room)

But they find that they are facing more than just foes... (Scene of the party staring a small castle)

They face their past... (Scene of Ron staring at an old house)

Next Chapter: Memoria: A Trip to the Past

Please Read and Review! Later!


	9. CH 64: Memoria: A Trip to the Past

Duelist of Dawn: I have returned to bring you this chapter, and it wasn't it with what I had to do for it. Gotta tell you this; it's almost time for me to return to being a working man and make my money, but don't worry. This story WILL finish! I'm almost there, so this will have a 'Complete' setting after I'm done with it! So until then, enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

Duelist of Dawn: Start the Chapter, please!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 64<strong>

**Memoria: A Trip to the Past**

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

So after we left the bridge, we walked into a new room and a new building far down the line. An inviting white light poured out of the doorway as we all went in. The next room was wide and open, with small fallen pillars decorating parts of it. Opposite the pillars was a small stage, like a mini-theater of some kind. In the middle of the stage was a miniature replica of Alexandria Castle, reaching the ceiling.

"Isn't this… Alexandria?" Eiko was the first to ask, looking the replica over, "What's it doing here?"

Dagger walked over to the stage, admiring the replica of her kingdom. "It's exactly as I remember it." She whispered, "This place really was made from our memories."

"Be careful," Zidane said as Dagger approached the stage. "We don't know what any of this stuff does."

Just as soon as Zidane warned her, the backdrop behind the stage lit up like a movie theater We all saw that Bahamut and Alexander had suddenly appeared in giant pictures, letting the stage project their epic battle. The fight went just as exactly as it went the last time as Alexander was victorious. However, that same giant eye appeared and opened in the center of the stage, dwarfing Alexander, no doubt the eye from the Invincible. There was a bright flash from the eye and soon the entire stage erupted in flame. Dagger jumped backwards, as the fire ate away at the castle, until the projection faded and the castle was left in a ruined heap, just like it had been after the battle.

Dagger looked on sadly as a tear fell down her cheek at the painful memory. Steiner froze up watching the scene unfold before him once more. Even I had remembered when I fell unconscious with my link to the Invincible at the time. Everyone else had a look of shock on their face. Only Quina was the one left confused and bewildered, looking at the rest of us.

"What?" The female Qu asked with a curious look upon her face. "What you see? Nothing happened. Castle only broke apart."

Freya turned to Quina with a look of shock and confusion, "Quina... You didn't see that..."

"Yeah, everything from that night we rescued Dagger just replayed itself right in front of us..." Eiko added.

"Of course!" Zidane realized, snapping his fingers, "No wonder, Quina didn't see anything! She wasn't there when it happened! It's not in her memories!"

"Yes, she must have still been in the Outer Continent or en route to the Mist Continent," Lovrina deduced. "And she wouldn't have seen it..."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Lani wondered, "If we can't see some memories, then how can we even walk in this place... or survive for that matter?"

"Well, everyone in this world had a hand in making this place," I shrugged as I continued to stare at the broken castle replica. "Through their memories anyway, and then you can say we had a hand in making this event that just happened since we were there. And who knows; probably when Freya picked up Kain's Lance, which could have been something from her memory of reading and from I remember it to be from my world."

"So our memories are the building blocks that created this world," Amarant stated.

"Yup..." I nodded. "The only reason I can give and one we have to acknowledge..."

"Hey look," I heard Eiko gasp as she ran towards the broken castle replica. She picked up a small red flute with a ceramic white feather at the end. "Wow... this flute... has a lot of power in it!"

Lovrina walked over to her sister and patted her on the shoulder, "Then we'll improve our chances at defeating Kuja."

"We should get a move on then," Amarant stated, "And be on the lookout for any enemies like Kary..."

* * *

><p>We went into the next room, which led into another staircase inside the castle. However, the interior looked like a haunted house as the staircase was destroyed a little with every step of the way. Also, it seemed like it was Eclipse's Castle all over again as I noticed the room looked like it was upside down. Finally, I saw pieces of furniture, statues, books, and wood floating by. Vivi was freaked out as some items floated right in front of him, but I was quick to calm him down. After all, we've seen and faced scarier than inanimate objects... Thinking nothing of it, we went on to the next room...<p>

Where I got my big surprise...

The door led to outside, but it was nothing from this world or anywhere from Gaia to the other worlds of Final Fantasy.

We walked along a street with houses that were from my world!

A white house with a tan roof, a brick chimney and it was along a narrow road.

I remembered this house from my childhood...

My Grandma and Grandpa's house from 20 years ago...

"Hey, where was this in our adventuring?" I heard Vivi wonder as I started to look at the house, more specifically the first window on the right. It was lit up and from here; I could see a little boy cringing in his sleep. I remember this night all too well... One night that had shut me down for a long while...

"I've never seen it..." Amarant muttered.

"Me neither," Lani added.

"I don't think anyone has seen any of this..."

*AHHHH!*

Everyone except me gasped as they ran over to the window when the little boy woke up with a cold sweat after horrible scream. His eyes widened and breathed heavily as if he experienced a waking nightmare. Seconds later, two adults, a man and woman, burst through the door and came to their son's bedside to comfort him.

"Whoa, the little guy got spooked," Zidane stated.

"I wonder what kind of dream he had," Freya looked on with a somber look.

"More like a nightmare," Dagger added with the same expression. "He looked as if it just happened..."

Soon, an elderly woman came in the room next. When everyone looked to her, they saw that she had tears flowing from her eyes and looked up to the two adults. She said something that wasn't audible, but after she finished everyone looked even worse than before. The boy's mother comforted his father when he sat down trying to hold in some tears.

But the boy was the worst of all.

Once the words left the elder woman, he looked shocked at first...

But then he just looked back at his bed with a blank expression, and did nothing else...

Reliving that scene again, had tears flowing from my eyes while a sudden rainstorm just hit. Although it was just a memory, and the raindrops weren't hitting me, it might as well be doing that with how I'm feeling...

"Oh my..." Dagger gasped. "What just happened?"

"Something tragic, I can believe," Steiner figured.

"Kweeehh..." Choco muttered softly.

"And it hit the little guy worse," Lani added. "Like he just lost all reason to function..."

"I think it must have been a death in the family," Vivi stated, "After all, I don't see a grandpa..."

"Yeah, but this has to be someone's memories..." Eiko figured, "But this is nothing we've seen before... As sad is this is, whose memory could it be to affect us?"

Lovrina then gasped once more as it suddenly kicked in, "I know..." Everyone turned to ninja/Summoner as she walked over to me and looked directly into my eyes. "Ron... is that little boy... you?"

A round of gasps was here by everyone else. I do remember telling Lovrina about the loss of my own grandfather; about how he died when I was too young to recall the memories. Even when I was okay then, just looking at this memory caused all that emotional pain to come running back into my head. I wanted to just keep it with Lovrina, but now I have no choice now but to open up...

Sighing heavily, I nodded, "Yeah, that was me..." Deciding to hold nothing back, I looked back at the scene inside the window. "I had this horrifying nightmare that my grandfather died just as soon I went into his house. I kept trying to shake him awake, but when I realized what just happened... I woke up terrified." I clutched my fists tightly, "After my parents came to me, my grandmother came in and told us that my grandfather died in a hospital... Once I heard that... it's like I just let life pass me by... at the time, I barely remember anything before the age of 9. The only reason I remembered this event was because of my parents telling me"

"So you just... shut down," Zidane asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "And it followed me throughout life without realizing it... During school, my brother and sister kept being asked about myself; how I always looked sad no matter where I went. All they could reply is that my grandfather died. Which had to be true, and I didn't acknowledge that..."

"You must have been close to your grandfather," Freya stated.

"I was... Used to cry out when no one but my parents carried me as a baby." I said, letting out a little chuckle, "As happy as I was told to be, I was fussy... but I was told that I only let Grandpa be that one other person." I then looked back at the house, to find that the memory inside the house faded away. "I didn't want to cope with the fact that someone that was closest to me... was no longer hear, I never said goodbye, and if I did, I don't remember it... That single memory led me to be weak most of my life and closed myself... Didn't know how the Hell I survived even with a roof over my head and my family to support me."

"And I bet that's what led you to come after me..." Zidane wondered, as he walked up to me and patted my shoulder. "I know how you feel, man. Before deciding that Tantalus could be my family, I felt lost and alone."

"You just needed a wakeup call, when you were about to do that time," I shrugged.

"Which is why I'm within my right to do this!"

Before I knew it, I was slugged to the ground by Zidane's right hand, causing a chorus of gasps to everyone else.

"Zidane, what are you doing!?" Vivi asked in shock

"Yeah, what gives!?" Eiko added in anger.

I looked up at Zidane, while holding my left cheek, where he hit me. Instead of looking pissed off as I was when I confronted him about his decisions, he gave me a competitive smirk.

"When Ron helped me back on Terra," He announced, "It was about me hanging it all up just to be with my 'family'." I saw everyone soften up a little as he continued, "He helps me see the errors of my ways with some harsh reality." He then walks up to me and holds out his hand, "Time I repaid him..."

I took his hand and he let me get up.

"Don't let the past ruin what you have now, man..." Zidane said, "It just harms you in the long run. Besides, you're a lot stronger than that... you know you're gramps doesn't want you wasting your time mourning over him. You should find some of those happier memories and cling to them instead of that one moment he died." He then pointed at my chest, where my heart was. "And then he lives on in here; everything he was, everything he stood for..."

I gave a soft smile and nodded, "You're right..."

"Of course, I'm right..." the Genome said, trying to be cocky. I laughed a little, "See, it's not that bad... Now let's just move on..." He then passed me by down the street, opposite of where he came. Soon everyone followed, giving me a friendly smile, or in Amarant's case, a nod. I walked beside Lovrina, causing my tail to wrap around her waist once more.

I looked back at the memory of that house, and said, "Goodbye, Grandpa..."

* * *

><p>After pouring out my emotions, we walked out of my memory and found our way into another room, this one with a dark, stormy sky and a rushing river passing below. Of course, some of us didn't agree that this weather should have happened in the first place. Like the last rooms, it was like a world in itself while staying in the overall world of Memoria.<p>

"This has to be another memory," Lovrina said.

"No kidding," I replied. "But whose is it this time?"

Lovrina then gasped as she looked around the room frantically, "Oh no..."

"What's wrong," I asked, feeling worried.

"This is..."

"Hey! What are you doing?" Zidane suddenly shouted. I saw that he was further down a bridge we had to cross over the river. He leaned over the side, shouting to someone over it.

I looked over the side, and saw what he saw. I saw a little girl in a brown cloak, preparing to board an old-looking boat. It looked as she was waiting patiently while keeping it together from the storm. I saw that the others seemed to have no trouble seeing the events playing out as well. I was thinking that their memories were intertwined with the world and common ties started to form. I was thinking because we were now close to each other, allowing us to understand one another and see one another's memories. It would explain how they saw mine, despite never being on Earth. Unless you count being in several million copies of the game all over the world, but...

"You shouldn't go anywhere!" Zidane shouted down again. "There's a storm!"

I looked down, and saw that the little girl was now joined by her mother, both dressed heavily in soaking wet cloaks. They ran with their supplies to that small boat, even though I knew it was too small to survive the treacherous sea.

"Guys!" Zidane shouted to us. "We have to stop them! They're gonna get killed!"

"Zidane?" Freya asked. "We can't do anything. It's just a memory."

"I know, but I—wait…" Zidane grabbed his head, as if it was going numb. "Right, it's just a memory. But I felt like I was there. I guess I got caught up in it."

"Are you alright, bro?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you all."

"Zidane?" Dagger asked. "How did you see that memory? It wasn't yours, was it?"

Zidane crossed his arms in thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"I thought not. That was my memory."

"What? Then how could I see it? Did anyone else see it?"

One by one, everyone either nodded or just said yes.

"Hey Garland!" Zidane called into the sky. "What's going on? Can you hear me?"

Zidane was only met with silence. He called out for Garland once more, but was met with more silence.

"Nothing," Zidane said after a minute. "Let's just keep going. Let's just hope we're getting close."

The bridge over the river led to a long staircase. The top was obscured by clouds, but since the clouds were only fifty feet above our heads, it wasn't too hard a climb.

* * *

><p>Once we passed through the clouds, we reached a new, wide platform, with only a few fallen pillars crumbling around us. We were immediately greeted by an enormous, terrifying eye. Its iris was burning red, like it was caught on fire. I recognized it immediately as the eye from the Invincible.<p>

_'Could this room be from Garland's first visit to Gaia?'_ I thought as I saw the storm that also was created. It was probably adding on to the memory of when Madain Sari was destroyed.

"What is that thing?" Zidane asked once everyone was on the platform.

"That eye…" Dagger muttered. "That's the same eye I saw that night at sea!"

"The eye from the Invincible?" Freya asked. "What a monstrous sight."

"Yeah, and check this out..."

Everyone turned to look at me and gasped as I had my veins glowing, but I felt none of the pain.

"Not again..." Lovrina sighed.

"Well, it had to happen," I shrugged. "Not to mention I've got Eclipse's Genome ashes injected into me... maybe that's why it doesn't hurt; because everything that was him is now inside my blood stream. And despite Kuja getting what he needed from it, plus the deaths of Garland and Eclipse, it would make the Invincible my airship now... along with all of its problems..."

"And if that's true," Steiner stated, "Think of all the good you could do with it..."

"Yeah, it's only good for a transport airship. I mean, we could barely fight on that thing. Unless we're taking down land and sea armies..."

"Uncle Cid could look over its blueprints and create more advanced airships," Dagger stated.

I looked to the Alexandrian princess, "Don't know about that; Terra may be too advanced for him..."

"He did use that boat from Alexandria and remade the Hilde Garde II into the Hilda Garde III," Lani pointed out. "Fast little thing..."

The next thing we knew, a monstrous roar and broken the conversation, and it was followed by several growls. All of us got our weapons ready and looked to the sky, on the lookout for any monsters coming.

However, when the roaring stopped, I saw a large green shape at the corner of my eyes make a landing on a stone pillar. Once I saw exactly what it was and remembering what happened earlier, I wasn't surprised and knew what I was in for...

It was a massive, six-headed dragon with a purple underbelly and light green scales. It really towered us in height, with all six heads and each of its two eyes, looked poised to attack. All of them gave menacing laughs and stares.

"So, you defeated Kary," the dragon spoke. "For Tiamat, there is only victory."

"Tiamat, the Queen of Winds," I stated.

"She's different from what we saw in the Wind Shrine," Vivi noted.

"I figured this would happen," I added. "It's from when they were first created... the Four Fiends..."

"Just like you said in the Fire Shrine," Lani replied. "What's so different about this one, I wonder..."

"I will enjoy the screams of your pain," Tiamat growled, baring her teeth at us. "You will not pass on... After reviving from death once more, I become even more powerful than before! I am the greatest of the Four Fiends; you do not stand a chance!"

"It's one against twelve," Zidane shouted, "And we're packing some serious power ourselves; so get out of our way!"

"You lack in your math, monkey," the dragon snorted.

"Maelstrom!"

I heard a haughty, evil, feminine voice shout and seconds later, we were all blown away by a giant storm. Lucky for us, we all regained our balance and landed on our feet. Once we looked up, we saw what, or who, caused it...

It was a pale-skinned giantess with long, golden hair that was twice her height. She was only dressed in a skimpy bikini with a short sash around her waist. She stared down at us with her grey eyes, which had got me uncomfortable the way she did so. And I did notice that all of the guys had a little red on their faces, except for Steiner and Vivi.

"Well, well, well," She said, "I see some wonderful toys to play with..." She lingered on the last word with a lick of her lips, "Perfect..."

Zidane leaned into Steiner and said, "I take it that you faced her, too?"

"Unfortunately," the Alexandrian Knight muttered, keeping his eyes on the Fiend and Archfiend. "But do not let your guard down, just because of the Archfiend's state of attire."

"I... wasn't talking about that..." the Genome stated.

"I can't believe we have to deal with this vile woman once more," Freya scoffed, readying her lance.

"Who is this?" Lovrina asked, as I could tell she didn't like how this Archfiend presented herself.

"Barbariccia, the Empress of the Winds," I replied, "One of the four Elemental Archfiends..."

"And she's just as dangerous as Tiamat," Vivi added.

"Oh, I'm so much more..." Barbariccia smirked. She turned to Tiamat, "And I already have my eyes on some delectable little darlings to have some fun…" She then gave a sultry laugh.

Tiamat couldn't help but chuckle gruffly at her cohort's antics, "It seems my partner has chosen her victims..." She then had her eyes glow dark green, "But I'll give her what she wants and take my fill with the rest of you as my meal!"

(Play Saber's Edge from Final Fantasy XIII)

"Float!" Tiamat shouted, aiming all her heads at six of us which turned out to be Eiko, Lovrina, Freya, Lani, Quina, and Dagger. All of six of the girls started to be lifted a few feet in the air.

"What's this!?" Freya gasped.

"Come with me!" Barbariccia shouted. Soon, Tiamat's heads blew more air from their mouths that created harsh wind.

The Cestus kept me grounded with its weight, but the rest of my body was in the air, still being in danger of being sucked into Barbariccia's tornado. Steiner's armor kept his whole body grounded when he knelt down.

"AAAAHHH!"

The girls screamed as they were carried through the winds and then captured within Barbariccia's tornado.

"Crap!" I shouted.

"Well, being seeing you all!" Barbariccia cackled as she flew away to a deeper part of the room.

"Aw man..." I growled as I tried to go after them.

"Look out!"

"Whooaaaaa!"

The next thing I knew, Zidane and Vivi come flying at my direction. The black mage stopped right in front of me and gripped my back, trying not to let go. However, Zidane grabbed onto my back and wrapped his arms around my neck and legs around my waist to avoid it. As painful as it was, their combined weight started to pull me towards the ground as well.

Amarant had gripped a pillar with his claws, and stayed in front of it to avoid the wind. Finally, Choco flew away from the winds using his Spiral Impact to shield him from the force.

"I knew it, they're planning to separate us from the start," Zidane shouted from the harsh winds.

"Yeah, but why separate the girls from the guys?" Vivi wondered.

"It's because Barbariccia has somewhat of a... secret obsession with girls," I tried to explain without going to graphic in front of Vivi. _'Damn, I wondered how Freya endured her advances during her time in the Wind Shrine?'_

"Huh?" The black mage asked, worrying about my spoken declaration about the Archfiend.

"She likes girls," Zidane summarized.

"Oh..."

I saw Steiner stand up from his spot and held up his sword, and from the looks of things he was charging up power.

"So, you can withstand my winds, yes?" Tiamat stated. "Then, I'll destroy you where you stand!" She then stopped one of her heads from blowing wind and had it blow fire instead.

"Shock," Steiner shouted as he slashed his sword towards the dragon, hitting right in the chest. Tiamat roared loudly in pain, ceasing her attacks and dropping each of us into the ground. The Alexandrian Knight was not going to let up as he charged at the six-headed dragon, planning to slash with his mighty sword.

"Foolish," Tiamat growled as she rammed one of her heads into Steiner, sending him flying backwards.

"KWWWEEEEHHH!" Then, Choco shrieked catching the Wind Fiend's attention as he flapped his wings intensely and let loose his Choco Meteor attack. The burning meteors dropped from the sky, ready to impact the dragon. Tiamat retaliated by blowing a cold breath from her mouths, creating an ice storm that cooled off the meteors into ordinary pieces of coal. Once close enough, she broke those coal rocks into pieces with each mouth chomping down.

"Aura Sphere," I shouted as I charged up my attack and threw it at the same spot Steiner hit. Unfortunately, one of the heads reacted fast enough to do the same thing as it did to one of those coals. "Damn..."

"Thunderstorm," Tiamat shouted as she used three of her heads to launch lightning bolts at Choco, Steiner, and I. Each of them hit home, shocking us and sending us into the ground, Choco harder than the rest of us. I then saw Amarant and Zidane rush in while Vivi stood back to charge magic. I could see Amarant already had his Aura charged on him while Zidane spun his weapon with his right hand, "Flames!" The dragon countered as she blew out breaths of fire from her other three heads. Lucky for the guys, they moved away before the flames touched them. However, they had to move away because all six heads decided to move their attacks on them.

'_Damn, we can't get in close,'_ I thought. But then looked back to where the girls were spirited away, _'I wonder how they're going to react to... _her._'_

* * *

><p>(Pause Music) (With Barbariccia)<p>

Deeper into the room underneath the 'Invincible', Barabariccia was giggling like a young girl who just got some new dolls to play with. And with her current state, should very well be living that scenario now as she had the six girls with her grasp. Once she got far enough from Tiamat's battle, she decided it was time...

"Alright, now," She said, "Time for us to play!"

One by one, she sent out the girls from her tornado and put them on the ground... hard on their backsides...

"OW!" Eiko shouted, "What was that for!?"

"That was uncalled for..." Dagger muttered.

"I'm surprised she could lift me up with how much my axe weighs," Lani growled.

"She's an Archfiend," Lovrina stated, "I wouldn't have been surprised."

"I just want the pleasure of killing her off this time..." Freya said in her anger.

"Where Archfiend go?" Quina wondered, looking around.

"Hello, ladies..." Everyone turned to see the Archfiend of Wind slowly descending in front the women, staring at them with bedroom eyes. "Now that the men are away, it's time for us girls to play! So many things to do..."

After hearing the sultry giggle that came with it, the six women had looked at her strangely.

"What is your problem!?" Freya shouted, readying her lance, "You're acting even stranger than you did back in the Wind Shrine!"

Barbariccia stopped her giggling after she heard the Burmecian Knight's statement, and looked confused, "Funny, I don't remember you... But... never have I 'met' a rat woman of all things. Tell me dear, have you 'met' with other women before?"

Another wave of confused looks spread through the women, "We've introduced ourselves when we first met, but what are you..."

The Archfiend suddenly had another giggle burst from her mouth, that she had the cover it daintily with her right hand, "Oh my... you are so naughty!"

"Huh!?" Eiko asked. "What is she going on about?"

"Oh..." Barbariccia said as she looked closer to the youngest Summoner, "Would this be your first time?" She had a sort of predatory leer when she stated it, "And I promise it will be memorable!" She then reached out for Eiko...

"Hands off," Lovrina snapped. She then took her katana and slashing it over the Archfiend's arm and causing her to flinch backward. "You leave my little sister alone!"

Peering over the wound that cut her, the Archfiend looked over her with an angry leer, "Oh, so you're one of those girls who like it rough..." She then smirked, "Well, I don't have a problem delivering that kind of good time..." She then yelled and spun around furiously until another tornado appeared around her body. "Step right up!"

"Same old trick!" Freya shouted as she leapt up to the skies above.

"Hmph," The Archfiend scoffed, "She would know better to run away..." She then stared down the other five, "I'll just play with you until she gets back!" She intensified the winds against the girls, and charged.

"Let's break through her tornado," Lani shouted as she lifted up her axe and then cartwheeled across the room, slashing through the tornado... but hitting nothing but air, "Huh?"

"Sorry, sweetie," Barbariccia said as she blew the bounty huntress away, leaving her to drop on her backside once more. "There's no getting through my tornado!"

"We'll see about that," Lovrina stated, taking out several shuriken and throwing it at the Archfiend's head. However, the Archfiend countered by absorbing them through her winds.

"Here, you can have them back," She shouted as she threw the shuriken back at the ninja/Summoner, who took evasive action and leapt away.

"Mustard Bomb," Quina shouted next, releasing an orange-red orb from her mouth and firing directly at the head. She then followed after the attack and prepared to charge up magic once more. Barbariccia blew away the Mustard Bomb with her tornado, and then became alarmed once she noticed the Qu running towards her, "Magic Hammer!" Quina transformed her fork into a giant mallet and then swung at the Archfiend once more.

"Stone Touch!" The Archfiend shouted, and then lashed out her with her right hand, grabbing the hammer. Quina quickly let go of the hammer and jumped back. Barbariccia smirked as the hammer soon turned to stone in her touch. She then threw it at Quina, who jumped back and let it break to reveal the original Bistro Fork weapon. "Now, are you going to come quietly?"

"Spear Assault!"

Freya suddenly came back from the skies, like a shooting star and dove right for the Archfiend.

"No, no, nooo..." Barbariccia smirked as she saw the attack coming, "Lightning Bolt!" From her tornado, she fired a lightning bolt that zapped into Freya's lance by its point. The archfiend's smirk got even bigger, hearing the Burmecian's painful cry.

"Freya!" The other girls shouted as their friend fell to the ground with a big thud.

Barbariccia laughed loudly as she saw the fallen Burmecian Knight, "Another Dragoon tried the same thing on me; smart man, getting through my defenses like that. And it was that painful memory through that rat girl's lance that I developed this plan: Sending a little jolt through the weapon..."

"Fira!" Lani called, pelting the tornado with flames. However, it only added to tornado's power and made it a fiery blaze.

"Come now, girls," Barbariccia said in a seductive tone, "You can stop playing hard to get already..."

"Why don't you take a hike!?" Eiko shouted.

"Frost!" Quina called, having a chill course through her body that turned her blue. She then inhaled the air and blew it at the smug Archfiend, spraying ice at the face. Unlike the other attacks, the Archfiend was feeling annoyed with this one.

"Keep it together, Quina," Dagger told the Qu.

"Dagger, you have to heal her," Lovrina said to her cousin, "It's not's doing anything to her," She then pulled out a small bomb, "Hah!" And then threw it at her feet, causing a giant smoke cloud to erupt around them.

Once again, the Archfiend giggled as she moved the tornado closer to blow away the smoke, "I see yo... huh?" When she blew the smoke, she expected to see the girls in the same spot while trying to heal their fallen friend, but what she saw...

Was a kunai with a small paper attached, reading, "I see you!" A second later, the paper ignited and then

*KABOOOM!*

The Archfiend cried out when the blast pushed her back, causing her to duck her head into the tornado to escape any overhead shrapnel that would have hit her face. Once the blast was gone, she looked back out with an angry look.

"Okay girls," She snarled, "It looks like I may have to make you _scream_, to get some satisfaction across to you all!"

"Dragon's Breath!"

"Frost!"

Barbariccia looked up and gasped, seeing both Quina and, to her surprise, Freya both in the arms of Bahamut. Both of them blew out their breath attacks, causing the Archfiend to retreat into her tornado.

Dagger, Lani, Lovrina, and Eiko took the time to run out of their hiding spot and take the attack on her. Seeing that the Archfiend was inside her tornado, the ninja/Summoner took out another paper bomb and prepared to throw it inside.

At the same time, Bahamut decided to unleash his own Mega Flare attack to add on to Freya's Dragon Breath and Quina's Frost attacks, combining to make a more powerful attack.

"Damn!" Barbariccia shouted, seeing the attack coming in for her and begins to panic a bit. "You are all trying my patience! Aeroga!" She creates a massive windstorm created from the inside of her tornado. A giant wind force erupts from the top of the tornado and forces itself against the breath attacks.

But soon, Lovrina's paper bomb made into the middle of the attacks and made contact...

*KABOOOMMM!*

A bigger explosion occurred, blowing everyone away from the impact and nearly scattering them. Bahamut was blown upwards into the sky, taking Freya and Quina with him who also felt the effects of the explosion. Dagger, Lani, Lovrina, and Eiko were thrown to the ground by the explosion.

The bounty huntress groaned as she got up, "That was big..." She muttered.

Lovrina wiped the dust off her clothes and legs, saying, "I missed the timing of that attack; Bahamut attacking was also something unexpected."

"Yeah," Dagger added, "But I guess it worked out for putting that Archfiend away from us for the moment."

"But we need to make sure Freya and Quina are alright," Eiko stated. "That explosion could have knocked them to who knows where..."

"They're the least of your problems!"

The four girls gasped as they turned to see Barbariccia closing in, still protected by her tornado with an expression stating that she was pissed off.

"Maelstrom!" She shouted, raising her hands over her head and then struck the girls with four mini-tornadoes that quickly spun them around, cutting them with sickles, and then dropping to the ground in a quick motion. Before they could recover from it, the Archfiend rushed by and tackled them into a nearby rock they didn't know was there...

"Oh no..." Eiko muttered.

"T-Too fast..." Lovrina groaned in pain.

"Just... wait," Dagger moaned, "I'll heal..."

"Something wrong, girls," Barbariccia shouted, with a look that crossed between livid and predatory. "You could have just had some quality time and _fun_ with me... but you just had to make it painful for all of us! I was going to be gentle, but now I'll just cut you into submission until you beg and plead for it to stop! Maybe then you'll be accepting of the _fun_ I'll imprint on you all!"

"The Hell..." Lani groaned, "I think this chick... likes girls... in _that_ way..."

The Summoner girls paled, even in pain, at the declaration, "Oh my God..."

"Let the fun begin!" the Archfiend shouted, wrapping her hands with electricity. "Let's have some pain before pleasure!"

"Dragon's Crest!"

Suddenly, a gigantic, glowing, purple seal appeared underneath Barbariccia and her tornado. Then, the seal shattered and out came that demonic dragon's spirit which grabbed the base of the tornado. And with one single chomp, pierced through the defenses of tornado and bit into the Archfiend's legs.

"AAAAHHH!" Barbariccia cried out as she lost the concentration in holding her tornado together, disappearing into nothing. She continued to fight against the spirit, but to no avail. "What the Hell!? How can this thing get through!?"

"My spirits can easily breakthrough defenses," Freya smirked as she, Quina, and Bahamut reappeared from the darkness. "And as long as you stay within its teeth, you cannot spin your tornadoes!"

"Now we cook you good!" Quina shouted.

The Burmecian Knight nodded and then turned to bountry huntress and Summoners. "Hit her now!" Freya shouted, pointing to the Archfiend, "While she's vulnerable!"

The girls wasted no time in charging up attacks, while the Archfiend looked on in horror. "No... don't!"

"Blizzara!" Lani called out, casting her ice spell. She charged it with her axe and then charged through with a battle cry. Once she made, she slashed the Archfiend and caused her body to be encased in ice from the neck down.

"Holy!" Eiko shouted, playing her new flute and charging the magical energies within. She could feel the powerful energies flowing through it before a bright, white energy blast erupted from it and shot through the Archfiend's body.

"Mustard Bomb!" Quina shouted, shooting out another flaming ball from her mouth that caused a burning, painful aura to surround Barbariccia.

"Dragon's Breath!" Freya then breathed out hot, green mists from her mouth to pelt the Archfiend's body with its burning touch.

"Ninja Art: Fire Ball!" Lovrina shouted, running through her hand signs before breathing red hot flames on the Archfiend's as well.

"Bahamut, attack now!" Dagger called to her eidolon. Bahamut roared in command and let loose another Mega Flare that engulfed the Archfiend's form and started to destroy her...

"AAAAHHHHHHH! NOOOO!"

Soon, there was nothing left of the Archfiend to identify... nothing but dust...

"Alright, she's gone!" Eiko cheered. But then she remembered the pain that was shooting through her and suddenly dropped to her knees. "Ow..."

"Yeah, I forgot much pain I was in..." Lani grunted, leaning against her axe.

"Hang on, girls," Dagger said, as she gathered up her magical energies, "Curaga!"

A healing wave of large energy strands enveloped Dagger and the rest of the girls, healing up the bruises and closing the wounds sustained on them. The girls sighed, feeling the relief of their restored energy.

"Much better," Lovrina said, stretching out her limbs.

"Yeah, this good," Quina nodded. "Now we continue, yes?"

"Now, we can get to helping the guys finish off that dragon," Freya stated, "If they haven't already..."

"Or at least heal them," Eiko added as the girls ran back to the battle against Tiamat.

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (With Tiamat) (Resume music)<p>

Tiamat proved much stronger than I thought; then again, in the past, she was the most powerful of the Four Fiends and she definitely showed it. Thanks to her wind attacks, it was difficult for most of us to get through to strike, especially Choco who kept being blown away. The only one of us who could attack was Steiner and Tiamat could anticipate his moves, even with Vivi powering up his attacks with spells. Plus, with having six heads, it's hard to get anything by this dragon.

The Queen of Winds laughed at our failed attempts to attack her, "What's the matter?" She hissed in multiple voices, "Can't reach me, fools?"

"You just keep blowing us off," Zidane shouted, "If I didn't know better, you were scared of us!"

Tiamat scoffed, "You puny life forms... always try to keep up a powerful front!"

"Thundaga!" Vivi shouted, casting his powerful electric magic. A massive thunderstorm struck the six-headed dragon where she stood, causing massive and explosive power to be dealt.

"Good job, Vivi," I said, impressed at what as I was seeing.

"Impressive, Master Vivi," Steiner smiled at young black mage.

"Good thing she wasn't paying attention to the kid," Amarant stated. "Mouthing off at us..."

"Impressive, indeed!"

Everyone turned to see that Tiamat survived the damage, still smarting from the electricity that was coursing through her body, "But I can do better! Thunderbolt!" One of the heads looked up and let out a powerful roar that called down a thunderbolt that none of us saw coming. While didn't hit any of us directly, when it impacted the ground, the force blew us to the floor hard. "How did that feel, hmmm?"

Her answer came in the form of Amarant and me shooting up to our feet. The bounty hunter grabbed several sharp disks and then started throwing them near towards the necks.

"Ice Tomb!" I slammed the ground with my fists, remembering a quick way to strike this monster with ice.

Once again, Tiamat anticipated the attacks by taking flight to escape the ice spires that erupted from the ground and then used her wings to swat the disks away. She then followed up with breathing flames at the ground, causing the Ice Tomb to melt and all of us to scatter to avoid the flames.

"KWEEEHHH!" I saw Choco finally came out of hiding and dealt a swift, flying Choco Kick to graze Tiamat's right side, catching her attention. She decided to breathing flames at him, trying to burn him to death.

"Thievery," Zidane called out, standing out on his feet and throwing out his expanding, golden treasure chest bomb. Tiamat retaliated by directing her flames at the bomb instead of the chocobo.

Knowing what was about to come, I had to make sure we don't get caught up in the worst of it. "ICE TOMB!" I shouted and then repeatedly pummeled the ground, creating ice spires to serve as a barrier to block some of the upcoming fire plus douse us with enough water to escape without much trouble. Once done, I saw the flames touch the bomb and...

*KAABOOOOMMM!*

It resulted in an explosion that spread out towards everyone around them and we hit the dirt. I could everyone scream in alarm and pain, along with my own, and even Tiamat's knowing that her attack eventually backfired on her.

Thankfully for me and the guys, we all survived the worst of it thanks to the cold water that came from the ice spires. We then shook off the water and prepared to look for Tiamat's current location.

"Over there!" Steiner shouted as he pointed over to not-to-far off spot. We saw Tiamat groaning in pain from the flames she helped create.

"Let's end it while we got the chance," Zidane told us. All of us nodded as he and Steiner began to rush over to the weakened dragon. The rest of us charged up some of our power and prepared for our long-ranged attacks.

"No Mercy!" Amarant shouted, charging up a white orb and pushed it towards the Fiend of Wind.

"Blizzaga!" Vivi focused up enough energy to unleash a frozen block of ice to lock Tiamat's feet in place. Then, it rose up like a glacier with massive spires sticking out, puncturing the dragon's body and making her cry out in anguish.

"Dragon Kick!" I launched a right roundhouse kick that sent a fiery, serpentine dragon and it followed after Amarant's attack and locked it within its 'mouth'. It carried towards two of the six heads and blasted them both.

"Climhazzard!" Steiner charged up energy in his sword and stabbed into Tiamat's body. Not done yet, he ran upwards of the dragon's body with nothing but adrenaline before ending at the base of the middle neck. Once he leaped off the body, he unleashed the energy that was charged in the blade to cause Tiamat to be cut apart from the inside.

"KWEEEHHHH!" Choco flapped his wings rapidly, and hit his Choco Meteor attack to focus on another head. The meteors collectively crushed the neck with repeatedly, leaving it limp.

And to make sure the Queen of Winds was finished, Zidane jumped right after and sliced the middle head off by the neck, letting it drop to the ground with a big thud. He stood over the decapitated head of Tiamat exhausted with his run and attack, watching as the body of Tiamat slumped over with its finalheadd knocked out as well.

(End music)

The rest of us ran up to Zidane and Steiner who were both down to their knees, out of breath as well.

"Is she dead?" Vivi wondered.

"Oh yeah," I added.

"After what we did to her, she'll stay dead." Amarant stated.

"Not to mention she kept focusing on defending and using her attacks as a defense as well," I figured, "And if that's the case, she had to be weak physically. I mean, did you see the damage she took?" I looked towards Zidane's weapon, "Guess you found yourself a perfect thief sword to wield... Otherwise, it'd have to be something like Steiner's Excalibur to cut open that thing."

"Kwok..." Choco landed next to us and then sat down, exhausted more than the rest of us.

I petted him on his back, "And then this guy was just getting pushed around by the wind."

"Well, we must make haste," the Alexandrian Knight groaned as he stood up, "We must rescue the women from that Archfiend."

Zidane shot up to his feet, surprising us all, "Right and that chick happened to be _way_ too happy to see them."

"Too bad you won't live long!"

All of us gasped as I felt a large power being charged up from in front of us. We came face to face with Tiamat's last head, preparing to attack. We shook as we were too close for escaping her attack.

"Damn it all..." Amarant muttered.

As we waited for the end...

"Mega Flare!"

A giant white blast shot from the sky and struck Tiamat's neck, causing another explosion that had us covering ourselves to avoid much damage and rolling away. Once it was safe to look, we saw that the attack had separated Tiamat's last head from her body and effectively killing off the Queen of Winds once and for all. And hovering over her remains was Bahamut, roaring in victory.

"You guys looked like you needed some help finishing." I heard a familiar voice. All of us looked up from the ground and saw the girls, safe from their battle with Barbariccia no doubt. "You okay?" Lovrina asked me, helping me to my feet.

"Better after Bahamut took down that Fiend," I said, stretching arms out. "She was tougher than I thought she be..."

"So was that Archfiend," Freya noted. "She kept up her defenses until we could break through." She then had a look of disgust, "She was very different from how she acted inside the Wind Shrine."

"You mean her obsession of girls," I asked, causing the girls to shudder in disgust once more. "I take that as a yes... Never thought that was true..."

"You could have warned us," Lani grumbled.

"Like I said, I thought it was false from what Steiner and Vivi said after coming back from the Shrine," I shrugged.

"Curaga!" Dagger called out, restoring our health with her White Magic. We felt a grand relief after all we had to endure.

"Alright, time to press on." Zidane said as we stared up at the giant eye in the sky.

"Ironic that we have to pass through a doorway inside of an eye," I stated, as we walked up the long stairway towards the 'Invincible's' Eye, "Especially one that looks like it came from the Invincible."

"This is a memory," Eiko stated, "Just keep telling yourself that in your mind and it won't be real."

"Alright then..."

"But still," Freya noted, "We need to worry about what is next for us; we've faced the two Fiends and the two Archfiends of Fire and Wind. Meaning that Water and Earth are waiting for us."

Lovrina grumbled, "Meaning we have to face Cagnazzo again..."

I wrapped my tail and right arm around Lovrina to assure her," And I got your back in that; messing with your clan like that, I plan on having some words for this guy." I saw a smile appear on her face, "Think about it; he couldn't beat you, Eiko, and Dagger so adding the rest of us is suicide."

She then nodded, "You're right..."

"Then, we'll just keep on moving," Zidane noted, "We'll know what we're up against, and have the ways to beat them."

Everyone agreed as we finally made it to the top and entered the 'eye' and doorway to the next room of Memoria.

* * *

><p>And we are done with this chapter, with the deaths of the Wind Fiend and Archfiend! If you're wondering about how Barbariccia ended up this way, I saw an AMV of the four Archfiends where Barbariccia happened to be obsessed with girls. Go check it out and see for yourselves.<p>

Next time: The next trek of Memoria will lead us into the sea (Scenes of Quina swimming underwater)

Ron finds something that could help the Summoners along the way (Scene of Ron looking into a dark void)

Also, the next fight awaits... (Scene of the party standing near an underwater ruin)

Next Chapter: Memoria: Deeper into the Past

Please Read and Review! Later!


	10. CH 65 Memoria: Deeper into the Past

Duelist of Dawn: I'll just get straight to the point on this one, it's new chapter time! And I foresee a few chapters left of the story. And this chapter was hard in terms of today's boss fight... damn it... Just hit the disclaimer...

Disclaimer: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

Duelist of Dawn: Start the Chapter, and rock on!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 65<strong>

**Memoria: Deeper into the Past**

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

After the defeat of Tiamat and Barbariccia, we continued onwards through the bizarre world that was Memoria. Thanks to that stairway into the 'Invincible's Eye,' we found ourselves past the clouds in the sky. Past that, we were all greeted with a new city. Narrow streets were paved through ruined buildings. Short domes covered tall towers. Somewhere, they could hear a fire burning, but there was no sign of it. Instead, there were only damp and mildewed walls as bacteria and mold grew in the cracks of the buildings.

"This looks like it just suffered a great deal of damage," Lovrina said sadly, "It looks like Madain Sari after the Invincible attacked it..."

"It also looks like what happened in Lindblum," Vivi pointed out, "When that eidolon with the big mouth attacked it alongside the Black Mages."

Hearing Lindblum caused Dagger to hide her face. Atomos was her eidolon that was used to bring that kingdom to its knees during Queen Brahne's attack on the rest of the Mist Continent. It may have not been her that did the damage, but knowing her, she felt responsible.

"Hey Ron," Lani called out to me. "You know what this place is... or was, rather?"

Looking around the ruins, I tried to make heads or tails of something from earlier Final Fantasy games until something clicked. In the background, I saw another castle that went pitch black and the sounds of fire was coming from it...

"The ruins of the Kingdom of Fynn," I said.

Dagger and Steiner gasped, "Fynn!?"

I turned to both Alexandrians with a questionable look, "You guys heard of it, too?"

"Yes," Steiner nodded and spoke up, "The Kingdom of Fynn was a prosperous kingdom in legend, until it was besieged by a traitor that joined the Palamecian Empire." Looking to the ruins again, he said, "So this is what happened during its attack?"

"How terrible," Dagger whispered.

"Must be how the world remembered the event of the attack," I stated, "Because the history said the people have restored it after defeating the Empire."

"Is it more from these... games?" Amarant asked.

"Yeah, that's what this place will do to you," I shrugged. "Just think of this as a history lesson and museum..."

"Then we should keep moving," Zidane sighed as he took point, "Like nothing is going to pop out at us, and it only feels like Kuja's biding his time in sending out next fight toward us..."

We all continued to walk and talk, taking in the sights of the ruins of the ancient city. The buildings and designs became fancier and grander the higher they went up, just like Lindblum. I continued to fill in what happened in Fynn, now that I've gotten everyone curious about the history while Dagger and Steiner continued to input. And most notably, I started talking about things I had trouble remembering or never knew at all about Fynn which got me wondering how...

At first, I chalked it up to having played the game Fynn is featured in, but that was years ago and I barely remembered the events save for the beginning. I put that theory to rest as I continued my pace towards the next room or place that Memoria would lead us too.

* * *

><p>The skies had darkened once more as we ended up on another bridge leading to another castle, similar to where we fought Kary at. And by similar, I mean it was exactly the same as the one Kary destroyed to kill us. Only one difference... the bridge had twisted so that it curved into an upright walk to the castle. Needless to say, we were confused...<p>

"Okay, how did this happen?" Eiko asked out loud.

"What sense does it make to build a bridge like that!?" Steiner exclaimed.

"Oh, I've seen stranger..." Lani noted, "But man... maybe I should place this at the top..."

"And there's another un-pretty sight," I pointed to the sky as I said it.

Everyone then turned to the starry skies and saw something that made them gasp in horror. We just saw the process of two planets colliding together... and they were eerily familiar as well...

"Oh no," Dagger cried, "Gaia and Terra are colliding!"

"It can't be..." Steiner gasped in disbelief.

"No wait..." Zidane shouted as he got everyone's attention as he walked closer to the sight. "It's not what you think it is..."

"So it's not Gaia and Terra merging before our eyes," Freya asked.

"Yeah, it is..." I said.

"But Garland just told me this happened 5,000 years ago..." the Genome added, and then turned to me, "You remember we saw something like this..."

I nodded, "Yeah, when Kuja sent us to Oelivert to do his dirty work... We saw how Terra fell into decline and sought out to come and assimilate Gaia in order to survive. But it failed because Gaia was full of life and the result caused Oelivert and many other places that used to be on Terra, placed on Gaia. So the idea for the Iifa Tree and Eclipse came to mind, and then killing the Summoners because the Eidolons had the power to stop it all."

"So this is how it failed," Lovrina figured.

"Kwoook..." Choco called out.

"Yeah, it is strange..." Eiko replied.

"Then we better get going..." Zidane said, waving over to us as he began to walk the path.

"But how," Dagger wondered. "We won't be able to climb..."

The words died in her mouth as Zidane walked up the path, his body turning in time with the bridge. All of us were freaked in how it turned out. Once Zidane reached the top, he was right side up and inside the doorway to the next room. He peeked out the doorway and said, "Are you guys going to just stand there or are you going to join me?"

The logic just turned around once more as the path twisted and turned in a forest, only to open to a fortress whose entrance was hidden by a thin waterfall. A small stone bridge led them inside, but a stone wall spread itself tall and wide, taking up most of what they could see. The wall was supported with large pillars carved to look like fierce wyrms, each with its own distinct features.

"This building is… ancient," Freya said, astonished at the worn stone walls.

"Makes sense," Zidane said. "The further we go; the farther back in time we end up."

"What'll we see in the end?" Vivi asked.

"I'll say the origins of the world," Lovrina figured, "If we continued going backwards, then it is only probable that we see how Gaia was created."

"And there we find Kuja," Amarant noted, "If that's how he's going to kill this world, it would be the way to do it. Not to mention this Memoria is really the center of Gaia, making perfect sense to destroy it to destroy the world." With that he disappeared into the waterfall.

"You gotta admit," Zidane said. "He's certainly focused."

"I'd say crazy if he thinks he should leave us again," Lani scoffed, following suit.

The rest of us followed suit, walking through the waterfall right behind Amarant.

* * *

><p>Inside, we found ourselves at the bottom of the sea... Strange as we did not cross into the water, but it was all there; the coral and rocks, the plants swaying in the currents, and even the numerous sea animals like fish and eels. Moss and barnacles were encrusted on outcropping boulders. The only path they could walk was surrounded by pointed coral formations and a cliff jutting out of the water far above them. The path led to a thin staircase, but there was too much light on the surface of the water to see what the stairs breached into.<p>

"This is so weird," Eiko said as a fish passed her by. "How can we breathe? We're underwater!"

"Relax Eiko," Lovrina assured her, "It's a memory of how the world used to be... and because it is a memory, we play no part in it."

"Try telling that to her..." Lani stated, pointing to the next sight.

"KWEH!" Choco was freaked out seeing Quina swimming inside the illusion of the ocean.

"How in the...?" Freya gasped.

"Wow! We in ocean now," The Qu exclaimed, swimming after many fish that were trying to get away from her, "Fish everywhere! Yum, yum!"

Zidane looked at the Qu and sighed. "...What are you doing?"

"Swimming after fish," Quina replied happily, "Zidane, you help catch fish, too!"

"Quina..." Vivi said, trying to get her attention, "It's not an..."

Suddenly, Quina stopped in her tracks and then started struggling in place while holding her throat. "Ugh...What this? Hard to breathe now!" Everyone gasped as she started turning blue in the face and flailing like a fish out of water, "UGHHH! CAN'T BREATHE!"

"Quina," I shouted in panic, "You're not in an ocean! You're still on solid ground! Breathe!"

After a few more seconds, Quina suddenly stopped and blinked, "We not in ocean?" As soon as she realized that moment, Quina felt flat on her bottom and caused the whole ground to shake. "You right! I breathe okay now!" She said happily, causing some of us to sigh in relief that she was alive, me included. The others groaned on how Quina went from near death to happiness in a matter of seconds, shrugging it off.

"Weird..." Eiko muttered.

"You got me, kiddo," Lani agreed.

"Like I said before," I said to Quina, helping her to her feet, "You are one tough Qu and you don't even realize it most of the time."

"Okay, how did she figure to swim inside of an illusion?" Zidane wondered.

"It's because she's been in the water for most of this journey," I stated, knowing the truth. "Majority of the time, she swam to get around the world... Especially during the Mist and Outer Continents..."

"Come to think of it," Lovrina noted, "I helped Chimono fish her out of the water when trying to make dinner back home. And it would make sense she would try to go in and get more... considering she was fascinated with the different fish from her own home."

I shrugged it off while leaning on a coral-covered rock, "Then this whole part of the illusion must have been Quina's alone, seeing as I don't what it would relate to Gaia except showing off a part of its ocean world."

"Guess there is no way of truly knowing," Freya shrugged as well, "Maybe we should continue on..."

Everyone soon followed the staircase leading up, what I'm assuming, out of the water. But once it got to me, Lani, Lovrina, and Choco about to leave, the coral-covered rock I had leaned on started to glow brightly and alerted us all.

"Ron, behind you!" Lovrina shouted, pointing behind me.

"Huh?" I replied as I looked behind me and noticed that the rock had created a dark void, "The Hell?"

"**Who disturbs my slumber?"** A dark voice called out from the void.

"Who is that?" Lani wondered.

"I'm trying to figure that out as well," Lovrina added.

"Kweeehh..." Choco also added, confusingly,

"This better not be another one of those freaking Fiends again," I wondered out loud, "My money's on Kraken, if it's the water we're in..."

"**I am not a Fiend,"** The dark voice replied. But then had the sound of confusion in its tone, **"Hmm? Ozma... here? I thought..."**

"Ozma!" We all shouted while Choco squawked loudly.

"I thought we killed the son of a bitch!" Lani yelled as she raised her axe threateningly and looked around for the signs of the unknown being.

"**What,"** The voice called out, startling us all. **"You killed Ozma!? Who are you!?"**

"We're just passing through," I stated. "But if you..."

"**I must see the beings that defeated him!"** The voice shouted once more.

Suddenly, we were all treated to a large suction in the void that pulled us in. I screamed as I slammed my Cestus on the ground, trying to anchor myself. But unfortunately for me and everyone else, that weight wasn't enough for this kind of force... especially since I was too close to the void to ever escape and I was the first to get pulled inside, followed by my girlfriend, Lani, and Choco.

* * *

><p>All of us screamed as we entered the endless void of darkness and what looked like stars all around. After a few seconds of being pulled, I stopped right in the center of it all. "Okay..." I muttered, "How did we get into this mess?"<p>

"Just for defeating Ozma..." Lani scoffed. "I'm guessing it's someone who wants to gain reputation by killing us."

"No, it can't be..." Lovrina mused. "When the voice noted it wasn't one of the Four Fiends, it seemed like it was sensing Ozma… from us..."

"Maybe from us being around Ozma," I figured, "Fighting him, killing him..."

"So... the ones who defeated Ozma have entered my domain," a mysterious voice echoed. All of us stiffened up, hearing that voice coming from all around us. "To think that such small creatures could defeat a God-like monstrosity such as Ozma... And to come into this realm of memories..."

"Who are you and why did you pull us in here!?" I shouted.

The voice laughed, "And this boy... out of your world, I see..."

I gasped, _'It knows even that!?'_

"Don't be alarmed," the voice announced, "I can even see that one of the other three was not meant to exist and the other two would not exist beyond this time."

I saw Lovrina cover her mouth in shock, as well as Lani who widened her eyes along with Choco's alarmed cry. I just got to even in a bigger shock then all of them, _'He even knows about the changes to the original game! He must be slipping through whatever disturbance that causes the change.'_

"Okay, I think you need to show us who you are and why do you know about this..." Lovrina said, threateningly.

"Very well..."

Then, appearing out of the darkness, like coming out of the water, we saw a demonic face just look right back at us. Once again, we were freaked out of our minds as Choco pushed us back away from the demon... and we saw its full form.

We stared at a massive 20 foot tall demon, sitting on a black throne that looked as if it was carved out of a mountain. The demon looked as if it was growing a mountain size wart out of its right eye and it wore a red-hooded cloak with silver and bone armor underneath. It also wore a pair of black pants. I even shuddered at the power his dark red aura was putting out; it was on par with Ozma. But the problem there is that it took all 12 of us to beat Ozma, while we have only four to handle this demon. Not only that, I put a name this demon after remembering who it was...

"Hades..." I said out loud.

"And you know me as well," Hades laughed out loud, "I am honored that a denizen from another realm helped deal with that nuisance. I was able to banish that fool for good..."

"Wait," Lovrina gasped, "You just saw Ozma!?"

"Well, I am the God of the Underworld," The demon God replied, "I once tried to smack down that formless freak, but overpowered at every moment. Lucky for me, I cannot die..."

"Then, someone would be envious of you..." Lani muttered.

"Ah yes, I heard of this creature from another just like him in the Underworld," Hades mused, "I believe you heard of the name Eclipse?"

I widened my eyes, "Eclipse came by here!? But he died on Terra!"

"Then you should know that this void we are in is neither of the world's origins," Hades continued, "This is my own domain that all lost souls should go." He then growled, "Until that wretched tree was created to block the balance! I was only able to get these two ever since..."

"The Iifa Tree," I noted, "Of course... the Underworld takes in the souls of those who have died. Thanks to the Iifa Tree, the souls go to Terra's world instead of Gaia's..." I then looked at Hades' face, "But how did you get two of them after all these years?"

Hades lifted his large hand and pointed his index finger at me, "It's by your hand that these souls are mine..."

"KWEEH!" Choco shouted.

"I agree," Lovrina noted, "Another change that Ron made by coming here... Defying the norm..."

"Whoa," Lani muttered, "This is too much for me."

"Not only that," Hades continued, "Every living thing that this newcomer has killed was able to come to their resting place at my Underworld, due to their negative influences of course..."

Realizing this fact, caused me to look back at all the monsters and enemies I had killed.

The Plant Brain when Evil Forest was still alive

Several Black Mages that Queen Brahne controlled during her rise to power over the Mist Continent

Zorn and Thorn as their fused form back in Mount Gulug

Marilith with help from Amarant and Lani at the Fire Shrine

The Nova Dragon on the way here with the Invincible

And of course Ozma, with the help of everyone, and then Eclipse on my own.

"So, I threw more gears into the plan than I thought huh?" I figured. "At least it was those who were trying to threaten others' lives..."

"You are correct," Hades stated, "But still... the balance is still upsetting, do you know how to destroy that vile tree?"

"It would have to kill itself," I stated. "Maybe by defeating Kuja, we can end it all... after all; he's the one running the show for Terra after Garland's death."

"Really," Lani asked.

"The Iifa Tree won't be able last long enough since Terra is still alive..."

"But Kuja destroyed it!"

"Only on the surface," I corrected, "The core of the planet hasn't died out..." I then gasped, going back to that conversation I had with Garland back at Pandemonium. The answer was all right there! "The core of Terra... is the Iifa Tree!"

"What!?"

"Kweh!?"

"If the Iifa Tree still makes sure that the souls of Gaia are blocked, and it's connected to Terra, that Iifa Tree will be gone once we destroy it from the core." I then sighed, "Only question is how to get to that core..."

"At least we know something more," Lovrina assured me, planting a kiss on my cheek. "But for now, let's get back to the others and fight Kuja and prevent him from destroying this planet's core."

"Good idea..."

"So, you know what to do as far as getting the cycle of souls back," Hades figured, "Not entirely, but you'll find a way from how you talked about it."

"Yeah, but we should be going," I noted.

"Before you do..."

Suddenly, I felt something leave my pockets and floated up in front of me. It was the two Pumice Pieces I got from Eclipse during my first and last encounter with him. I was about to ask what was he doing with them when...

"I think you need some added help from Terra's feared enemies," Hades announced, "Especially the strongest one Gaia has allowed into their world..."

'_That made sense when Eclipse destroyed it,'_ I thought to myself, _'When the others were able to take out Ark while it was still in airship form, he retreated after knocking me around...'_

Hades raised his hands up high and ignited his hands with white flames, taking each piece within one hand each. He then shouted, "Synthesis!" Having a tight grip on each Pumice Piece, he then slammed them together with a powerful force that created a bright white spark that filled Hades' space and a loud clashing sound, similar to a blacksmith slamming his hammer on a burned metal on an anvil. Everyone covered our eyes once the spark set in and cringed from the sound.

After it was done, all of us safely uncovered our eyes and saw that the spark was gone and restored the dimension. I had to rub my eyes and ears a bit to get my sight and hearing under control, being a little disoriented.

"Sorry about that," I heard Hades call out. "Should have warned you what would have happened..."

"You think?" I groaned, still trying to gain full control of my senses.

"Still, behold my creation!"

We looked into the palm of Hades' right hand and saw a single, orange, prism-like crystal that spun slowly.

"Now you have a fully-fledge Pumice jewel," Hades announced, "Perfect to call out the Eidolon of Darkness to aid you in your time of need. You will need to have a Summoner to call on its full potential instead of its airship form."

Then, the Pumice floated out of the God's hand and over to me. I reached out to grab it, holding it with both hands. It was big enough to fit in one of my palms, and it was glowing on and off.

"Thank you," Lovrina said, "I never knew that the God of the Underworld was ever... nice..."

"I have many different stories," Hades stated, "But we have a common enemy, and with my dimension as well as yours in jeopardy because of this Kuja person, you'd best use that power to help defeat him."

"Got it," Lani nodded. "But how do we get out of here?"

"Kweh?" Choco shrugged in confusion.

"Yeah, everyone's probably wondering where we are at..."

"Allow me to help one last time," Hades interrupted me as he raised his right hand. With his large fingers, he gave them a snap that caused us all to disappear from the dimension...

* * *

><p>(3rd POV)<p>

After the party of four vanished from his dimension, Hades placed his hand back on his throne.

"They will have to do it," He said to himself, "The balance must be restored. That Pumice will give them a push... but ultimately, that boy from the other world will have to figure out who the real threat is..."

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

Suddenly, I appeared into another room that was not the ocean world. It was a large platform resting just on the surface of the water. They looked around as they stepped up to the platform. They were enclosed in a large, ruined tower. Several of the walls had collapsed, letting sunlight bleed in from outside, and the windows were devoid of any glass with thick, rusted metal serving as the base.

I looked all around in confusion, "How'd we get here so fast!?"

"It's like Hades... changed the setting around us..." Lovrina said, almost in a whisper. "He truly is a God..."

"Just because of some teleporting trick," Lani asked, putting hands on her hips, "We've seen and heard others do that..."

"Kweeeh..."

"But that was... instant," I said, thinking of the only word to describe what just happened to us. "I couldn't even sense it happen like the others..."

"Ron!?"

I quickly turned my head to the staircase below us, and saw that Zidane and the others had just come up to the current room with shock on their faces.

"Hey guys," Lani waved.

"How did you guys get ahead of us?" Zidane asked.

"Yeah, you four were right behind us..." Eiko added, pointing at my group.

"Well..."

I summarized the events that happened with Hades, from what we've learned about Terra and the Iifa Tree, the creation of the Pumice (to which Dagger and Eiko were happy about), and how Hades instantly teleported us to this room.

"Very insightful," Freya mused.

"And we know that Terra will stop if the Iifa Tree is vanquished," Steiner figured.

"But we have to finish off Kuja before hand," Amarant added. "And add in the fact that it's hard to destroy that tree in the first place..."

All twelve of them started up again, walking across the large platform. They all craned their heads to see the bizarre sights, but about halfway through, Zidane just came out with some information...

"So, Gaia just used to be one big ocean..." He mused.

Everyone stopped walking and gasped, looking at Zidane, who in turned looked at the endless void of water.

"How do you know that?" Dagger asked.

The Genome shrugged, "It just came to me... like a lost memory. And it doesn't make any sense because I was born on Terra; and certainly not in this life time..."

"It feels that way for me, too," Vivi spoke up, "I haven't been in this world long enough, but I know that Gaia was covered with water millions of years ago."

"That's weird for the kids to know so much," Lani mused.

"Then again, I would know as well," I spoke up, "Then again, my planet Earth was the same way. Covered with water throughout billions of years and had one giant, super-continent with all sorts of life living on and off the land. And in fact Gaia, in my world, was various things that were used to uncover things about Earth's creation, history, and mythology." I then looked to the world outside the broken window. "And here's what's in my memory about that... Gaia was covered in water throughout millions of years. Then, underwater volcanoes had started expanding and erupted to create the land. Finally, the creatures that used to be water had evolved from being only water born to those that can crawl, walk, and breathe in the air." And then to crack a joke, "And that, my friends, is your moment of Gaia History."

"Enough joking," Freya groaned, "Why can we all remember this? It's not like we've read it from history books..."

"Nor have I," Dagger added, "And I've had Doctor Tot teach me about history, but only about things like the history of the Mist Continent as part of my training to become Princess..."

"Aiya!" Quina shouted, rubbing her head frantically, "My head hurt!"

"Kwok, kweeehh..." Choco muttered at the Qu.

"Yeah, she should calm down..." Eiko said, translating the chocobo speak. "And you're sure taking it way cooler than I thought you would..."

"Well, Choco is more mature than what we all know," Lovrina added.

"MY PREY IS HERE!" A loud voice shouted from the water as it bubbled like a boiling pot.

All of us rushed back together just as something massive jumped out of the water. The dark shape crashed onto the other side of the platform. Knowing who it was, considering the last two fights we had, I didn't expect this form to show up. We now faced a giant, squid-like life-form with a fish/fiend-like face. It was standing on four tentacles, crossed two of them like arms, and the other eight were left flailing behind him slowly. It wore an elaborate purple cape with an emerald holding it together at the neckline, over its giant yet slim body. Despite the monster's appearance, the way it presented itself was like a royal figure.

"Oh ho ho ho!" He laughed loudly, "How dare you trespass in Kraken's domain!?"

"Holy Mother of God," I shouted. "Kraken!? Damn, you're ugly in person!"

"I thought the same thing," Eiko added.

The Fiend of Water growled at our comments, "DID YOU ALL THINK YOU WOULD CROSS HERE WITHOUT FACING YOUR EXECUTIONER!?" He shouted angrily, speaking like how the Summoners spoke of. "AFTER HEARING OF YOUR DEFEAT OF KARY AND TIAMAT, I THINK YOU HAVE OVERSTAYED YOUR WELCOME IN THIS REALM OF MEMORIES!"

"And we think you should just get out of our way," Zidane shouted as we all prepared to fight. "12 on 1 is not a good move..."

Kraken laughed, "FOOLISH HUMANS! SUPERIOR NUMBERS YOU MAY HAVE, BUT YOU ARE NOW IN MY ELEMENT! FREE REIGN OF THIS MEMORY REALM AND MORE ROOM TO MOVE THAN YOU," He then smirked, "NOT TO MENTION MY SUBORDINATE WILL HAVE THE SAME ADVANTAGE! WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET HIM!?"

*SPLASH!*

Suddenly, a massive form hit the water that caused a wave to crash into the stairs and drench some of us a little. We turned towards the large body of water, and saw it was another monster; a giant turtle-like creature. It was completely blue from its shell and its body, and its limbs were as long as human's would be if they were as huge as he was. Also the head was also not a turtle's head showing a bald man's face with sharp teeth in the mouth.

"Cagnazzo!" the Summmoner Girls shouted.

"Figures the Archfiend would show as well," Amarant scoffed.

Seeing the Summoners, the Archfiend of Water gasped, "Summoners!? At last, I will get my chance to rid them of this world and their powers! And it will be a lasting pleasure!"

"We've defeated you once," Dagger declared, "And we'll do it again!"

"Then, let's not keep you all waiting!" Kraken boasted, lowering his tone once again.

(Play Blue on the Run from Sonic and the Secret Rings)

Amarant quickly threw his razor disks at the two fiends, but they quickly retreated into the water before the disks could touch.

"This just had to be in a memory where water is majority of the room!" Lani growled, as she looked cautiously into the water.

"And there is no telling when they'll pop up," Eiko added.

"Unless we make them," I noted and turned to Vivi, "Shock 'em!"

Vivi nodded and then raised his staff high, "Thundaga!" Charging the staff with magic, the Black Mage pointed at the water and launched the high-level magic into the water.

Yet, the split second before the electricity dropped into the ground, we saw two shadows leap out of the water. It was then the water became an electrified death trap that sent bolts dancing around the water and it was sent racing across the open sea. But we quickly turned to the directions of the two shadows, revealing to be Kraken and Cagnazzo at the top of the stairs.

"That was fast!" Zidane shouted.

"Well, he's not as big as he was in the shrine," Dagger pointed out.

"Yeah," I noted, "He's how Kraken first appeared, and I guess that's how he's moving so quickly."

"Yet Cagnazzo's still the same..." Lovrina added.

"Nice try," the Water Fiend taunted, "I know my own weaknesses and prepared for that pitiful excuse for an attack!"

"But we got you out now," Eiko smirked.

"Thundara," Vivi shouted, using a lower-level spell, probably afraid to catch the rest of in the crossfire. The electricity launched from the sky and headed straight for Kraken once more, along with Cagnazzo. But as I thought, he evaded it by jumping into the water with a big splash. And adding to our list of shocks, Cagnazzo did something that I never thought would happen...

"Shield of Water," Cagnazzo shouted, as he gained an ocean blue aura and it reacted to the water moisture from around the room. In lightspeed, the moisture created a flat-like whirlpool above his form. Once the Thundara hit the whirlpool...

...It was able to absorb the electrical magic! Everyone and I were gasping in horror and we saw a whirlpool now charged with the magic.

"But how!?" Steiner shouted, managing to find his voice before the rest of us.

The Archfiend laughed loudly, "Water conducts electricity, yes? Makes sense for the water to absorb it into itself." He then narrowed his eyes and made his grin wider, "But how about I give it back!?" The electrical whirlpool turned bright blue as Cagnazzo used his magic to throw it at us.

"Mighty Guard," Quina shouted as she charged her magic up, enveloping us in her protective barrier. Once the whirlpool hit us, we felt a sharp pain that nearly pushed us off the steps and left us drenched.

"KWEH!" Choco took to the skies, backing up a good distance and then surrounded himself in a spiraling aura. "KWWEEEHHH!" He let out as he charged in head on towards the Archfiend.

"Don't think so, birdy!" Cagnazzo growled, "Blizzara Wave!"

The Archfiend inhaled the air and then blew an icy wind, littered with icy spires at the chocobo. I began to show my concern, until I saw spiral aura break the spires and repelling the cold air. Cagnazzo then caught Choco's Spiral Impact attack right in his ugly face, launching him the air and into the ceiling. Soon, the Archfiend hid in his shell and he dropped from the ceiling and headed straight for the water when...

"Thundaga!"

Vivi had enough time to charge a second high-level attack, prompting Kraken to jump out of the water once more to the safety of land. But we all watched as it didn't matter for both Fiend and Archfiend as they got the shocks of their lives. The screams of both Water monsters was loud and painful, before the spell subsided and let the both of them drop into the water with a tremendous splash.

(End Music)

Now I was truly in shock as I just saw both Kraken and Cagnazzo defeated in one Thundaga attack. If they were in the water, I would understand but...

"Alright," Eiko cheered, "That was so easy!"

"Good work, Master Vivi," Steiner praised the young mage.

"Thanks," Vivi nodded, and then turned to Choco, "But we should thank Choco for giving me the opening to charge up that spell; it's not easy to do..."

"Kweh!" Choco nodded.

"I can't believe it was that easy," I stated, having second thoughts on the demise of the Water Fiend and Archfiend.

"Oh come on," Lani interjected, stepping in front of me and pointing at my chest, "You saw what we saw: those two fish-heads got zapped by the kid's magic!"

"But you forgot something else," Amarant interrupted, "You saw that they could block and evade it as well... Even with Choco taking them by surprise..."

Lovrina gasped, "Not to mention that water would heal them!"

"Oh no, she's right," Dagger said, fear evident in her voice, "When we fought Kraken back at the Water Shrine, every time we hurt it, he'd use a water spell or dive back into the water!"

"Damn," Zidane cursed.

"We should freeze the water just so they won't escape," Freya suggested, looking to Dagger.

"Yes," She nodded back and then prepared to summon...

"Before that, how about you all take a dip with us!?" We heard a voice, recognized as Cagnazzo, shout from the deep.

(Play Water Battle Arena Theme from Monster Hunter)

"Deluge!"

All of us were caught by surprised as we turned towards the exit and found the Archfiend grinning at us as he unleashed water from underneath his form and was surrounded with it. Then, a tidal wave came crashing down the stairs causing us to scream in horror as the water crashed into us and knocked us all off into the water below. All the while, we could here that Archfiend's laugh in the water.

And if the fear was setting that we were in the enemy's battleground of choice, I saw that the surface was starting to freeze over, trapping us inside. We could see faint image of Cagnazzo standing on top of the freezing ice, grinning while it thickened.

"Oh ho ho ho!"

Then that that damning laugh of the Kraken alerted us to the ocean floor, seeing him stand there with a smug look.

"Welcome to the tank, guppies," He boasted. "Your deaths will be slow and painful! So come; fight me all you please until you drown!"

I took notice of everyone; while most of us were floating, Steiner was already on the ocean floor because of the armor weighing him down. Zidane took on the challenge with Amarant and I swimming as fast as we could to back him up. Resorting to his daggers, the Genome tried a hit and run attack, swooping in for a slash or two with Amarant dishing out his own before coming back. I added swift punches and kicks to the face to disturb the vision, but...

"Oh ho ho ho!"

He was just laughing it off like we did nothing! I then saw Lovrina and Freya move in to take their turn. Lovrina started throwing kunai and shuriken, embedding the objects into the Kraken's flesh. Freya followed up with piercing strikes into the torso and even some kicks of her own. Needless to say, it hardly did anything as well when Kraken puffed out his chest which sent the shuriken, kunai, and Freya off his body. The weapons sank to the bottom and Freya retreated.

"Is that all, guppies?" Kraken insulted. "Maybe I should just end your suffering n... AAAHHHH!"

I smirked as while he was talking and when half of us were trying to hurt him, Steiner was slowly walking the ocean until he was able to jam Excalibur, in a painful, slow, excruciating torture stab. And to add onto the pain, Lani was able to make her way over, despite the weight of her axe, and used it strike Excalibur even more into Kraken's body like a hammer to a nail. Afterwards, they were able to pin his right side tentacles into the ground.

"KWEH!"

Choco now got into high gear as he attacked with Spiral Impact, knocking Kraken stupid for a couple of seconds and then followed with claw scratches before the Water Fiend tried to grab at him, making him swim away. I patted the chocobo on the back, relishing in the humiliation that Kraken endured.

Vivi and Eiko gave sad smiles, knowing that they couldn't do a thing as Vivi needs to call out his spells, while Eiko needs to play her flute, bothing needing to breathe to do so.

"You think you're still big?" Kraken shouted. "I think you forgotten where you are! Cagnazzo!"

Suddenly, Cagnazzo appeared as if he emerged from part of the water and snarled at us. He quickly pushed in his head and limbs into his shell, and started spinning quickly, then tackled each of us in our stomachs and made us lose much of our breath that we managed to hold. Using that chance, Kraken slapped each of us on our backs to force the rest of the air out. Once I felt my air running low, I started panicking and held on to my mouth to keep it in.

(Pause Music)

Kraken and Cagnazzo laughed at us all, when I started seeing that everyone was now doing the same except Choco. He immediately charged at the ice above, in an attempt to break through and give us some air.

"Oh, it won't be long now..." the Archfiend chuckled, waiting for our moment of death. "At least I get to see the last of the Summoners wiped out..."

"Just relish it in," the Fiend added, "The extinction of our enemies... not just a single race, but all life-forms who dare step in our way..."

Feeling myself fading away, I started shutting my eyes and lose the fight within me. There was no way of getting out of this trap... _'It didn't matter if we could be creative in this setting,' _I thought, _'They had the advantage to finish us off all along... Damn... it... No... it shouldn't... end like... this...'_

I then gasped and clutched my normal, beating heart while taking in a breath...

...

...

...

...

...

'_Wait a minute...'_

I covered my mouth enough, not to let the Fiends see me, but I took another short breath and found out I was breathing in like normal! As happy as I was, I was more freaked out than that!

'_How am I...'_

A memory came back to me... a recent one...

(Flashback)

_"Wow! We in ocean now," The Qu exclaimed, swimming after many fish that were trying to get away from her, "Fish everywhere! Yum, yum!"_

_Suddenly, Quina stopped in her tracks and then started struggling in place while holding her throat. "Ugh...What this? Hard to breathe now!" Everyone gasped as she started turning blue in the face and flailing like a fish out of water, "UGHHH! CAN'T BREATHE!"_

_"Quina," I shouted in panic, "You're not in an ocean! You're still on solid ground! Breathe!"_

_After a few more seconds, Quina suddenly stopped and blinked, "We not in ocean?" As soon as she realized that moment, Quina felt flat on her bottom and caused the whole ground to shake. "You right! I breathe okay now!" She said happily, causing some of us to sigh in relief that she was alive, me included._

(End Flashback)

I had to laugh on the inside as I forgot... it's still just a memory world... Despite being realistic to the highest degree, we're not a part of it so that logic shows us little to no concern. Even if we were part of the event, we can will ourselves to get out.

I took in another deep breath and smiled that I was able to breathe in the 'water'. _'Talk about some messed up irony… I'm in a world that exists in a game in my own, but I'm in a physical representation of it... Damn, this is hurting my head...'_ I thought. But now wasn't the time as I turned to everyone…

"Everyone," I shouted, "Breathe! Remember the previous room! It's only underwater if you THINK you are!"

Everyone was shocked that I was able to talk in the water, and even more so that I was not struggling for the air. I looked in the corner of my eye and saw that Kraken and Cagnazzo were at a loss for words, finding out that I was not going to die slow and painful as they put it. Soon, everyone else obtained the bravery and started thinking to breathe in the 'water' and took in deep breaths as they could not hold in their previous ones.

*GASP!*

With a loud gasp, everyone widened their eyes even more as they found their lungs filled with air, not water! Add in that, they sighed in a huge relief of not going to die.

"HOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!?"

But the loud bellow of Kraken interrupted their moment of reprieve as he was completely pissed at what he thought it was our deaths.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" Kraken shouted loudly, causing the ocean to shake and bubble.

"Yeah, but the problem is that this isn't real water..." I taunted. "We can swim in it, float it in it, and can even think it's real... but the fact is that we don't belong in this part of the world, dumbass!" I shrugged, "Kinda of crazy coming from me, but..."

"Damn, you saved us again with that crazy logic," Lani said.

"Right, now we can fight without worrying about losing our air," Eiko cheered.

"One problem..." Cagnazzo sneered, getting over his shock.

(Return to Water Battle Arena from Monster Hunter)

He and Kraken shouted, "WE RULE THE OCEAN!"

The Fiends began their attack with Kraken stretching out his tentacles to lash out at as and Cagnazzo spinning towards us in his shell. Having our own thoughts perceived, everyone was able to move away from the attacks with ease and then planned to fight. No doubt the Summoner Girls prepared to fight Cagnazzo, but I saw Choco give him a helping hand since either by swimming or flying, he could keep up.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV)<p>

"Haste," Eiko shouted, having free reign of her voice. She played her tune on the flute, focusing on Lovrina and Dagger making their movement quicker. She then quickly focused on herself and made sure she was quick enough as well. And just in time...

Cagnazzo rushed at the girls, trying to chomp them with his oversized teeth. Thanks to Eiko's magic, the girls were able to evade by staying on ground. Lovrina went on the offensive, throwing shuriken at the Archfiend and ran though her hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Shuriken!"

The few shuriken became many and pelted the shell, but deflected them all as Cagnazzo continued to spin. Feeling the attack coming, Dagger had to act fast as she conjured up her magic.

"Protect!"

With her new speed, she was able to cast a veil of light on herself, Lovrina, and Eiko. Just in time for when Cagnazzo rammed into them again with a spinning attack, they were pushed up into the water with minimum damage sustained. Seeing it again, Eiko played her flute again.

"Holy!"

A stream of white light erupted from the youngest Summoner's flute, blasting Cagnazzo with a powerful force that pushed him into the ground with a rumble that erupted dust and bubbles. But it nothing as Cagnazzo came back and struck again with another shell spin, pushing the girls into the ice above, nearly crushing them and knocking the wind out.

"KWEEHHH!"

Choco then struck, putting his own speed into motion as he tackled Cagnazzo just as the Archfiend planned to crush the girls even more. Using the Spiral Impact once more to and pushed him into a brick wall. Then, Choco followed up having his head and claws glow, and started clawing and pecking the shell off Archfiend that left cracks inside.

"No, you don't!" Cagnazzo shouted as he started glowing blue, "Water Pressure!"

"KWEEEHHHHH!" Choco cried out in pain as he suddenly felt a crushing force around him and then threw him into the ground hard and fast.

"Choco," The girls shouted.

"And you're next," Cagnazzo grinned, "Water Pressure!" Then, the girls felt themselves drop to the ground hard and feeling pushed even more. The Archfiend laughed at their plight and continued to gloat and stood on the ground, "It was a mistake trying to get me out of my shell like that! The shell acts as an inhibitor on my powers; if cracked even a little, I'm able to exert more strength."

"Ugh..." Dagger coughed.

"It's hard… to breathe again..." Eiko said.

"Just... wait..." Lovrina said, as she managed to move both hands, that were positioned over her head and slowly did her hand signs before announcing, "Ninja Art... Erupting Earth…"

"Now it's time for you to..." Cagnazzo's next words were stopped as he felt the earth give way and then shoot up to pelt the giant rocks underneath him, "WHAT!?" He shouted in surprise as he felt his unprotected underbelly being struck by the massive rocks, some of them were giant; some were sharp enough to pierce the Archfiend through. All of them together were enough to make the Archfiend wail in pain, losing his focus on the Water Pressure, letting Choco and the girls stand up.

"AAAHHHH!" Cagnazzo was sent shooting up into the ice top, and being slammed up against it before floating downwards

"Holy!" Eiko shouted, playing her flute and then shot another light energy stream up against the exposed underbelly, with another piercing blow that got the Archfiend screaming a silent scream. During that scream, the light from Holy erupted from his mouth and blasted another part underwater wall apart, creating an escape route and alerted the others, fighting off Kraken. Not only that...

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV) (At the same time with the fight with Cagnazzo)<p>

While Lovrina, Eiko, Dagger, and Choco were fighting off Cagnazzo, the rest of us were dodging Kraken's tentacles as fast as we could. Having less weight than the one I was told about from the Water Shrine, this Kraken could move well for a big guy. Luckily for us, he knew absolutely no magic for us to contend with and it was going to make it easy. However...

Some of the tentacles managed to slap me, Vivi, and Freya back away. Steiner still couldn't move well since his armor did rust up from the ocean's memory, despite him being free of it. Amarant and Zidane tried several different tactics in getting inside, but all of the discs he threw were easily deflected and Zidane was pushed back before getting a single hit. Lani's skills couldn't help in getting closer as every attack involved throwing herself with her axe and her magic wouldn't be effective enough. Quina had us protected with Mighty Guard and any tentacles that came from her was easily deflected, but it return she couldn't budge without getting smacked around as well.

"Oh ho ho ho," Kraken laughed, "I'm surprised that even you can breathe, you all are still no match for me!"

"I don't get it," Zidane groaned, "We can breathe and move fine in the water, but we can't hit him..."

"Because it's HIS Ocean," Amarant figured out, "We may not think it's an ocean anymore, but he still does... and that makes all the difference."

"So that's how fish face was able to outsmart us," Lani scoffed.

"Oh no," Vivi sighed.

"Still doesn't mean he can't beat us," I added. "We have a big advantage in numbers and different strategies. And add in the fact that you're a big target..."

"How is that helpful?"

"Freya!" I shouted.

"Cherry Blossom!" the Burmecian Knight shouted as she spun her lance like a fan and launched many cherry blossom petals that surrounded Kraken's form. The Fiend didn't pay any mind at first... until they started to cut into his skin, giving him some irritation.

"You little rat," Kraken growled as he used his tentacles to start swatting them away.

"Quina!"

"Twister," Quina shouted, pointing her combat fork at the Kraken next. Erupting underneath the tentacles, a giant tornado surrounded not only him but the Cherry Blossom attack. The winds spun the sharp petals around even faster, cutting up Kraken and the winds' sharp edge had increased the pain.

"My turn," I smirked as I raised my arms, "Ice Tomb!" Slamming my cestus into the ground, caused the ground to rumble a bit, but then I saw the ice spires I created erupt from within the Twister/Cherry Blossom combination. Hearing the Kraken shout in surprise told me that it hit.

"And for the final touch," Zidane said, as he took out his treasure chest bomb and threw in into the tornado, "Thievery!" Once it was in the tornado, the winds carried around for a while until...

*KABOOOM!*

The entire tornado and ice formation had erupted in a huge explosion, causing us to cover our faces from the debris and brightness of it all. It also made smoke and lots of bubbles to distort our vision.

"Did we get him?" Zidane asked.

"I can feel his aura still," I replied, "At least he's still a little messed up..."

Once our vision cleared, we saw Kraken growling with a little less intensity than before.

"And of course, he's pissed off at us," Lani scoffed. "Let's just finish him off..."

Kraken roared with a loud bellow, showing off his failing tentacles.

"Vivi!"

"Drain," Vivi shouted and pointed his staff at the Fiend's face and started extracting a green aura from him, which I felt it was his life force. The Black Mage was grunting from the energy he was receiving and struggling to keep the spell in check. "Guys... get him... now..."

"You heard Master Vivi," Steiner shouted as her raised his sword, "Charge!"

Not for one to leaving a strong opponent at his weakest, all of us rushed the Water Fiend and prepared for anything we could do to destroy him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kraken shouted as his tentacles stopped flailing and poised at us. "TAKE THIS!"

Before we knew it, we saw the tentacles shoot out thick, black ink globs that pelted our faces one by one and hit Vivi to disrupt the Drain spell.

"Damn..." Steiner growled, "A fine time for us to be blind."

"But how come we cannot get this ink off our faces," Freya wondered, thinking she was trying to wipe off the ink. "In water, it should have been turned to smoke."

"Oh ho ho ho!" I heard Kraken's infamous laugh.

"This is getting old..." Amarant muttered.

"I believe the red-headed one said that this was 'MY OCEAN'!" Kraken sneered. "Meaning, I can manipulate how this world works. It's real water from where I will it, and from where you are... it's not! So, the ink is very, very dry!"

"Dammit..." Lani growled.

However, I had grinned because Kraken didn't know one thing about me. With my sight closed off by shutting my eyes or having them blinded, my Aura Sight kicks in and helps me to see the auras of others around me. And right now, I was seeing everyone's including the Kraken's dark blue one.

"Not bad..." Quina muttered.

"Huh?" I wondered what the Qu was talking about. I walked in the direction where I saw Quina's aura and then whispered, "What are you talking about? You're blind as a bat..."

Quina laughed in her breath, "This how I beat Master Quale..."

"Yeah, so don't worry about that," Zidane whispered, obviously hearing my conversation, "And Quina even gave Freya and me a brief course in using our senses to move around."

I gasped as I remembered what Vivi told me about how Quina defeated Quale by using her other four senses while her sight was blocked. Makes me feel like I still got a handicap even with 'sight' no matter if I'm physically blind...

"But we need to get the others out..." Freya warned.

"And so, guppies," the Fiend sneered, "Your time has come..."

He moved his tentacles towards us, waving the four on his back menacingly and biding his time since he thought everyone was terrified and stunned by the ink our faces. I turned my sight to Vivi, Lani, and Steiner who were tensing up. Amarant, however, was looking like he was getting ready to dodge. Luckily, I saw Freya near Vivi, Quina near Steiner, and I was near Lani. We had to act fast.

Suddenly, Kraken struck going for Vivi and I smiled when I saw Freya react and grab the little mage and evaded the tentacle.

"What!?" Kraken growled as he went for Lani next, but I was able to lift her and her axe to move her away, and even managing to use the axe to cut one tentacle down, "AHH!" He shouted in pain and frustration. He then got tired and tried to swipe at all of us now. Not only we were able to dodge and anticipate where the attacks were coming from, I even saw Amarant doing the same thing and we weren't even sure if he could. Either way, we could still evade Kraken's attacks. "Damn it all!"

"Now," I shouted.

"Lancer!" Freya shouted as she thrust her lance towards the tentacle that pursued her. The four dragon spirits struck down the tentacle until immobilized.

"Thunder Blades!" Knowing that the ocean around me wasn't real, I felt safe in changing my arms into the electrical swords on my hands. With it, I cut apart the tentacle that went after me.

"Thunder Slash!" Quina had let Steiner go and the knight was able to get moving somehow, despite the rust and chop down the next tentacle.

"Crushing Impact!" Lani shouted. She got off my back and retrieved her axe before slicing down the next tentacle, sending cracks into the ground from the aftermath.

But before we could do more damage, I saw an oval-shaped being with a dark blue aura being sent flying into the Kraken's face, causing the both to go flying through another wall that lead into the giant ocean outside. And then, I saw Lovrina throw a scroll through that same hole.

"Shut that opening, quick!" She shouted.

Not bothering to ask, I took a nearby stone and ran towards the hole and closed it up. The next thing I heard was a massive explosion of water and also electricity running with the strangled screams of both Water Fiend and Water Archfiend and it continued as they finally stopped.

(End music)

I whistled had the damage from what the object did the Kraken, figuring out who was it. I turned around to see the auras of Choco and the Summoners approaching us. "Well, you guys sure did a number on Cagnazzo."

"This is getting old that we're saving you guys more," Eiko smirked.

"We crippled that giant fish-head," Zidane boasted, trying to face the girls. "If anything, we would have finished it before you decided to interfere..."

"But it looks like you all got crippled in sight," Dagger giggled as she prepared her magic, "Esuna!" A magical wave washed over us, clearing up the black ink from our faces, allowing everyone to open up our eyes.

"We can see again," Vivi cheered, "But I hate it when it happens..."

"You and me both," Lani muttered.

"And not to sound ungrateful girls," I spoke to the Summoners, "But thanks to Quina's method of fighting, we did cripple him and was about to finish him off. I wonder what you did the cause Cagnazzo to be shot over here..."

"Since we took care of the fish special," Amarant interjected, "Shouldn't we get out of here and after Kuja? We're running out of time, despite you claiming that he'll be waiting to destroy the means of keeping Gaia alive."

"Alright, alright," Zidane said as he looked at the hole blasted by Eiko through Cagnazzo, "Thanks to that scuffle, we can get out of here through that hole. Let's go..."

Minutes later, I climbed out of the makeshift exit from the ice and stood back on the stairwell from the ocean. As most of us, ran up the stairwell, I was staring out at the ocean and thinking of what was coming next. _'We'll be fighting Lich and Scarmiglione last,' _I figured, _'Then it's on to Kuja and no doubt he'll have a certain monster to stand in between us beforehand. After what happened with the other three fights, they'll use the environment to their advantage.'_

"Thinking of what's next," I heard Zidane say to me.

"Yeah," I replied, "And I think you know as well..."

"How could I forget," the Genome groaned. "If it weren't for Quina's major attack back at the Earth Shrine, I would be dead... I wonder how tough he is, this time around. Any ideas?"

"Not sure that I remember a whole lot," I shrugged, "All I know is that they are from how they are first created from the Fiends' point of view. How he and Scarmigilone function as a united front, is anyone's guess..."

"Then let's figure it out on the way! Once we're done, our 'brother' needs to get smacked around like you did Eclipse!"

"Right behind you... 'little brother'," I grinned as I passed him by.

"Hey!" He shouted, "You maybe older, but you only became a Genome hours ago! I'm the older one..."

"Whatever..." I waved off, laughing as he kept getting angry at me.

* * *

><p>Well, that's another one down! Damn, that work can keep you away!<p>

Next Time: Regressing more into the past, we see things like the birth of Gaia. (Scene of the party looking at the planet's birth)

Then, we get into the final battle with the last Fiend and Archfiend. (Scene of Lich and Scarmigilone snarling)

It feels like the only way to kill the undead is a secret I have never obtained in the game (Scene of a strange-stone shape inside of room)

Next Chapter: Final Leg of the Past

Please Rate and Review! Later!


	11. CH 65 Memoria: Final Leg of the Past

Duelist of Dawn: (Bursts open the front door) I'M BACK BABY!

Machina: Whoa, Boss! You're here and you're back!

Duelist of Dawn: Damn straight! It's not easy leading a double life, but I will do it! Hell, I want to finish my stuff!

Machina: And I want to see it, too! And the people as well!

Duelist of Dawn: And this was a tough one like the last chapter, in terms of boss fighting. But thanks to the Azure Guardian, I got out of that slump again! Thanks, pal! Now to the disclaimer! Machina?

Machina: The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy IX, or any music used in story. He owns his self-character Ron and the OCs Lovrina Carol and Eclipse.

Duelist of Dawn: Start the Chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 66<strong>

**Memoria: Final Leg of the Past**

* * *

><p>After facing a tough battle against Kraken and Cagnazzo in Memoria's water, all of us had reached the next room. We were now standing on top of a platform overlooking space, making it a little dark. There were only two things that gave light to the room: the billions and billions of stars clustering around, and a giant ball of lava that gave us some heat. All of us were in awe at what we are seeing.<p>

"Geez, that's one big fireball." Zidane whistled, "Although it can't be a sun, what with all the molten lava around and inside it."

"Could it be a moon...?" Steiner pondered.

That is when I decided to speak up, "This is the birth of Gaia; your planet that's being created from over 5000 years ago, considering we've been going back in time so much."

"Gaia over 5000 years ago..." Dagger whispered in awe, "This is like reading so many books about planets' origins."

"Okay, but knowing this," Lani mused, looking up the ladder, "What are we going to see once we climb the ladder?"

"Well, we know sooner or later we have to face Lich and Scarmigilone," Zidane said with disdain, "And for two bags of bones, they nearly took down Quina, Choco, and I."

"They are undead enemies," Lovrina pointed out, "And lucky for us, we have two White Mages to deal with them." She then turned to Dagger and Eiko, who both smiled. "All they have to do is use the Life Spell on them, and we can move ahead with no problem."

"Good thing," Quina nodded, "We had to use up potion stash to defeat Archfiend."

"Oh yeah, the thing kept using the dead soil to heal itself," the Genome groaned. "And Quina was pushed to the limit with a new move to tear apart Lich."

"Meaning we're about to be put through the test before Kuja," Freya stated and sighed. She then gripped her spear and stuck it into the ground, "Then we should get moving if we have a strategy in place."

"Yeah, and even better strategy since we know those two won't let use aim the Spells at them," Eiko added.

"But..." We are turned to Steiner and saw him looking sad, "I won't be able to fight now."

"Why not?" Vivi asked. The Alexandrian Knight held up his empty scabbard, shocking the Black Mage, "What happened to your sword?"

"I had to relinquish it in order to keep that Kraken at bay for us to win," He admitted. "I would be a hindrance if I were to add myself into the coming battle." He then sighed, "And I won't be able to fulfill my wish to the old man that gave me the sword, Excalibur."

I suddenly gasped as I racked my brain for upcoming events, and finally found one I could use. I remembered Excalibur, that's for sure, but there was always one weapon that got away from me and would ALWAYS get away from me because I would never reach it in time...

"You got another sword one the way, Steiner," I spoke up, looking towards the ladder, "And it's up ahead..."

The Alexandrian Knight looked at me with shock, "Are you serious!?"

"Very," I replied, "And trust me, you'll have some real power behind this particular sword... it's even stronger than Excalibur..."

"It is!?"

"Guys," Freya spoke up, "I think we should get a move on... I know you say that Kuja will wait for us, but I think even he would have lack of patience given that he hasn't much time to live."

"I agree," Amarant added, "And being that we dealt with three of the Fiends and three of the Archfiends, we're going to run into the last ones before we run into Kuja."

Zidane groaned, "Scarmilgione and Lich... yippee..."

"All we have to do is hit them fast with White Magic like Lovrina said," Eiko exclaimed. "So stop worrying...

"Yeah and it needs to be fast, like you said," Zidane continued, "These guys are no joke."

* * *

><p>Pretty soon, we climbed up the long ladder towards a black citadel of some sorts. Of course, we had the girls bringing up the rear with me leading the way. Along the way, I found a thin weapon that had a dark brown and red color. From the top of it, it looked like a mace with sharp, dagger-like spikes on top. I smirked as I pulled out the thin weapon and showed it to Vivi. "Here's a weapon for you to use, Vivi."<p>

"Really?" He asked as he took the staff into his hands. Once he held it, the Black Mage gasped. "Whoa, I can feel a lot of power in this staff."

"I know," I replied, "You can actually cast Doomsday with that staff." Soon, everyone had stopped in their tracks as soon as Doomsday was heard. I can tell they haven't forgotten the last time that magic was used. We had to turn it against Ozma, and even then we were still caught in the left over clash. Lucky enough we are alive today to talk about. "Don't worry everyone; it would be bad to even use such a thing in here. He can just use it to amplify his magic against what's to come and we all know what that is..."

* * *

><p>The climb up the ladder wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Along the way, I saw the background change from the fiery birth of Gaia and vanished to empty and coldness of space that existed before Gaia. Once we reached the top, the doors had opened up to a spacious ballroom opened up to us. It may have been as large as a circular room, but I can feel symbolic meaning made it feel like a God's Domain. I looked back and could see most of Memoria from up here. The view was spectacular, if not confusing. Again, physics does not exist in this place.<p>

When I turned back around, the ballroom shifted to an old style jade platform. The room and most of the walls were gone. We were left only with a tiled floor and several pillars rose in the corners. With the open sky, we could see a night sky unlike any I'd ever seen before, with shooting stars, cloudy galaxies, and even an aurora borealis somehow. A large door was all that stood between us and the realm of space. Forgetting all of that, I looked around for the sword that would help out Steiner immensely.

"So, this is the end of the line," Amarant said, pointing out the other side that showed only space, "And no sign of Kuja."

"Then where the Hell is he," Lani grumbled.

"Cool it guys," I assured him. "Anyway, Steiner's new sword is in here somewhere..."

"I see nothing that looks like a sword," Dagger mused.

"Maybe there is a secret wall or something," Zidane added, "I mean, if this is from the past and with how this place is, that sword will be hiding."

"Are you thinking of another memory," Eiko asked. "Did something pop into your head?"

"No, nothing," the Genome shook his head, "Giving the amount of things I found in my days with Tantalus, that's how it is."

"He's got a point," Lovrina agreed, "We could find something that looks out of the ordinary and find this sword."

"Thank you everyone for your assistance," Steiner smiled as we set to work.

"You won't be finding anything in my domain!"

Everyone stopped immediately and then looked towards the direction of the gravelly voice. Before we knew it, I saw something with a skull for a face that was heading towards the windowless frame that scared us out of our wits. Our terror stunned enough for it to crash into the room and into us, throwing us to the ground.

"Damn..." I groaned.

"Is... everyone okay," Dagger asked us all.

"I'm... okay," Vivi replied.

"Kweeeeehh…." Choco stood up and shook the leftover rubble off his feathers.

"Where skull-man go?" Quina wondered.

"Right here!" We all turned around and saw a figure rising out of the ground with a demonic-looking skull for a head and red eyes flashing from inside them. It wore a mythril helmet that had giant horns on each side and a red banner on top. Around its skeletal body was a tattered purple cloak, which I assumed it was a royal status, and it only left his chest exposed with his giant arms. "I, the Fiend of Earth Lich, commend your feat." It said, "But your life ends now as you join me in the realm of the undead."

"Try and stop us," I shouted when everyone got ready for a fight, "After coming so far and defeating the other three Fiends and Archfiends, you'll fall just the same."

"Yeah, so bring on Scarmiglone and let's get this over with!" Zidane added as he was eager to get the fight started.

Lich laughed, "Looks like I don't need to spoil the surprise now... Yes, I'm not alone as with the other three Fiends had their respective Elemental Archfiends. Scarmilgione! Come out and bring your wrath upon these fools!"

Suddenly, a giant fist burst from the floor with a menacing growl that spooked us all. Then that fist opened up into a clawed hand and started tearing apart the floor with another to join it. Pretty soon, it was...

"AAAAHHHH!"

All of us were now falling through the floor and into the interior of the building we climbed up. Choco was able to get his bearings and stay in the air. The rubble around us provided me a way to jump from brick to brick and land safely. The same went for Zidane, Freya, Lani, Amarant, and Lovrina. Eiko and Vivi were caught by Lovrina and myself, while Dagger was caught by Zidane. Quina fell on her backside and Steiner landed on his back, both grunting out their pain.

"Cura!" Dagger shouted, casting her healing spell and cured the Blue Mage and Pluto Knight of their pain.

"Okay, what the Hell!?" Lani growled, "What were they doing?"

I looked around the room and hated what I could make out in the darkness. The inside of the building was a dark, musty dungeon held together by black and dark red bricks. I cringed at the sight of the skeleton piles that littered the place, with strips of decaying flesh. In fact, the room itself looked like it was decaying as I saw that it was blood that gave the bricks its dark red coloring.

"Oh God..." I muttered, taking in the scent unconsciously and covering my nose. "This is not what I was suspected..."

"Man, this is worse than the Earth Shrine," Zidane shouted.

"Shh, quiet," Dagger whispered and for good reason. We heard the sound of footsteps approaching our position and slowly as if to prolong our fear. I took the time to use my Aura Sight to see where the figure was coming from. A large figure was coming from our right, and thankfully he wasn't that close and no one else was in the way for what I had planned.

"Dragon Kick!" I shouted, earning gasps from the group. I launched the flaming dragon from my leg, letting it soar towards the large figure and letting it illuminate the room. Once it impacted the figure, I heard it scream in agony. "Dragon Kick!" I once again sent another flaming dragon, but this time I turned towards the walls and let the flames hit the torch holders. Pretty soon, the dungeon was lit up; we could see who tried to ambush us.

It was a monstrous zombie with that stood on all fours. It had dead and decaying, dark brown skin with green patches of hair on the skull. Finally, it had four large bones sticking out from the body; two on its back and another two on its sides, showing that it had a twisted, skeletal anatomy.

"Scarmilglione..." I muttered, as everyone was now alert, "Archfiend of Earth..."

"He's like this now?" Zidane wondered, "But I thought we had to kill him in his first form do that?"

"He dead again..." Quina figured out.

"Kweeehh…" Choco growled, probably remembering his past fight with the undead beast.

The Archfiend of Earth hissed in anger, "That hurtssss... the ssstinging flamesss..."

"Oh yeah, I could I forget about his... speech impediment," I groaned, mocking the Archfiend. "Are you ever going to get that fixed? Please do it in this lifetime..."

"Talk now, human," Scarmiglone growled, "But I will be the lassst thing you ssssee before your death!"

"And don't forget about me!" All of us looked up to see Lich floating down the dark pit we fell through, having the starry skies illuminate his skeletal form. "You will join us in the sweet embrace of Hell!"

(Play Forze Del Male from Kingdom Hearts)

"Earthquake!" Lich quickly shouted, driving his large hands into the ground and Scarmigilone jumped up into the sky. The ground around his hands started breaking and cracking apart through his forceful touch. Afterwards, the floor started its violent shaking and sent several portions of the ground upwards and started to fly towards us.

"Move!" Freya shouted as she was quick to uptake. She and Choco were able to sense the attack coming before it even hit due to them being animals having those senses. Freya jumped off the ground and bounced off the walls, using the debris to speed towards the Earth Fiend. Choco also took flight, dodging the earth blocks and using a Spiral Impact to charge ahead.

"Scarmigilone!" the Fiend shouted as he started to glow a sinister red, and suddenly his eyes glowed the same color, "At hand!"

"DIEEEEE!" We all saw the Archfiend drop to the sky, with a growling hiss. He was able to reach Lich before Freya and Choco, and swatted them with both his arms towards us. Luckily, they were able to regain their footing, "Lich will not be harmed, you weak, pathetic fools!" He shouted as he started to glow red as well.

"Wait a second?" I asked, confusingly,_ 'Didn't think the Archfiends were that grateful to the Fiends, despite who's stronger and how Fiends got them wrapped around their finger throughout history... so to speak...' _

"Destroy them," Lich commanded. "And spread their corpses all over this dungeon!" Scarmilgione's eyes widened as he charged towards us, the jagged ground not hindering his advancement.

"Girls, now," Zidane shouted. Dagger and Eiko nodded, readying their weapons and focusing their magic. Once they were ready, the Archfiend vanished from sight, "What!?"

I gasped as I quickly turned around to see that Scarmilgione had reappeared behind Dagger and Eiko, following the Archfiend's dark aura! "Watch out!"

"Too late!" the Archfiend shouted as the girls suddenly turned around to their horror, "Cursed Elegy!" He released a giant cloud of purple smoke that surrounded them all, and we could hear Dagger and Eiko coughing from it and trying to take in clean air. Pretty soon both girls passed out and as they did, Scarmigilone shoved them inside an open cell and slammed it closed.

"Eiko!" Lovrina cried out.

"Princess!" Steiner shouted.

"Two down!" Scarmigilone chuckled as he turned to us with his jagged grin, "Who elsssse wantsss to go?"

"Damn, that was fast!" Amarant shouted as he flexed his claw hand. "I didn't even see it!"

"I did, and I couldn't get to them in time," I growled. "Now we'll have to beat him down the old fashioned way..."

Lovrina got her katana ready, a focused and angry stare at the Archfiend, "And I'll have no problem with that!"

Zidane and Lani charged in first, spinning their weapons as they did so. Scarmigilone picked up some ground and tossed it at the two. Quickly, the Genome and bounty huntress used their blades to cut through the dirt and keep going. Once close enough, they slammed their weapons into the Archfiends arms, cutting into both of them. However, Scarmigilone stood his ground and sucker punched them both back towards us.

Amarant threw several disks into the Archfriend next, who caught them with his hands. Quina got in there next, charging her blue magic in her mouth. "Freeze!" She exhaled a blue wind straight at Scarmilgilone's face, freezing his body into the ground. Finally, Freya used the walls to jump higher and higher until she reached the top. "Spear Assault!" Suddenly, she dropped down at an alarming speed and the momentum and weight of the attack struck hard into Scarmilgilone's back, making him scream hard and his bones to crack in two. He then fell to the ground, splayed out on his stomach.

"Impressive!" Steiner cheered. "They really put their efforts together!"

"That had to hurt," I smirked. "Poor bastard..."

"But it only means you made him angrier," Lich shouted as his red aura glowed higher. We all gasped as we saw it react to Scarmigilone, repairing his bones and putting him back together again. He then stood up on all fours and roared triumphantly.

"NO!" Steiner and I shouted in disbelief.

"I must thank you for the intenssse pain," the Earth Archfiend grinned, "Now, I ssshall pay you back tenfold!" He then stomped the ground, knocking us all off balance. He then charged at us all, knocking us all in different places. However, I saw Amarant, Quina, and Freya launched into cells that locked themselves shut, "Thisss isss too easssy!" He laughed.

"Enough," Lich interrupted, "Finish the rest! We'll be able to deal with the imprisoned after it is done."

"Apologiesss," the Archfiend hissed, "But thisss power you given me isss amazing!"

"That's because you needed it; you were always weak! It's a wonder how, aside from our elemental affinities, we work together. Nevertheless, we have common goals and I rather not waste too much of my efforts fighting them myself."

'_Damn,'_ I thought, as I got on one knee, _'I should have known Lich had that power to increase the powers of _undead_ monsters. Hell, he drained the earth out of several civilizations in his time and created a vampire servant from some of it... Now he's given Scarmigilone the power to do what he could never do in his lifetime.'_

"Time to die," I heard Lovrina shout as she alerted the undead fiends to her and did several hand signs, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" In five puffs of smoke, Lovrina created five clones of herself who were all ready to fight, "Attack!"

"Lovrina, wait!" I shouted, but they charged in anyway.

Scarmigilone laughed as he saw the attack, "You really want to die ssso badly? Fine with me!" He then charged in as well. Two of them had the foresight to get out of the way of the attack, heading towards Lich instead.

"Bothersome," Lich growled as he raised his hands and struck each of the Lovrina's heads dead center. But as soon as it did, both girls detonated in a large explosion, blowing off Lich's arms while blasting Lich himself into a wall, hard, resulting in him sticking to it, with burns all over his body.

"AAAHHH!" Lich screamed as he felt the impact and the loss of his arms, while his aura became faint. Scarmigilone gasped as his aura became faint as well and looked over towards his partner, confused at what just happened.

"Clone... Bombs?" I asked; shocked at what just happened.

"Did she somehow detonate herself?" Zidane asked as well.

"Whatever it was, it sure caught Lich off guard," Lani stated.

Using that distraction, Choco took flight and flapped his wings rapidly to unleash his Choco Meteor attack to summon burning meteors towards the undead fiends. Lich growled as he allowed the ones that came his way pass through him, but he hissed in pain once smoke leaked out of his body from touching the hot rocks and he was losing his cool and his aura completely. Scarmigilone caught sight of this and had to run and jump along the walls to dodge and, of course, some did graze his skin and burned off a little. However, that caused him to be in the sights of Lovrina and her three clones. He growled as he moved in to crush them. However, as he tackled into them, the real Lovrina jumped out from the front and back onto the ground and leaving Scarmigilone to...

*KABOOM!*

With three clones detonated by the Archfiend's slashes, Scarmigilone was flung into the air with several pieces of him breaking off. Getting out of my shock, I narrowed my eyes at the Archfiend and ready to finish him off. "Dragon Kick!" I shouted as I did a roundhouse kick with my right leg, sending a fiery dragon to engulf his body.

"Flare!" Vivi chose this moment to unleash one of his ultimate magic. The spell shot out of Vivi's new staff like a missile and blasted into center of Scarmigilone, causing another blast to hit him and effectively breaking him to pieces and nothing more.

"Alright!" I cheered. "That Archfiend was a complete pain in the ass!" Lovrina landed in front of us, a satisfying smile on her face. I couldn't help but pull her into a hug that got her laughing as well, "That was incredible; I didn't think you were able to do that with your clones!"

"Actually, it was the clones that were able to do that, even though I have the knowledge," the ninja/summoner explained, "They used a technique that makes them into living bombs; anyone dumb enough to attack will set them off and as you saw the two zombies, leaves quite a mark."

"You saved us all with that one, sister," Lani smirked, "Anymore and those two would have finished us off."

"Yeah, and I can't believe how strong they were," Zidane noted, "Especially with how Scarmigilone fed off of Lich's power, whatever it was he did was way beyond what I knew about them."

"We should go free the others soon," Steiner reminded us. "Then we can finish off that vile Fiend!"

"First," I said, looking to Vivi, "Burn Scarmigilone's body so that Lich doesn't have a chance at reanimating him..."

"Got it," Vivi nodded as he charged up his magic. "Fir..."

"NO! HE'S MINE!"

Everyone turned to see Lich pushing himself off the wall, lack of arms be damned and he floated over towards Scarmigilone's remains and his arms scattered around him. Despite his state, Scarmigilone managed to talk...

"Ha!" He shouted, not even sounding like he was exhausted and dismembered, "You sssee!? No matter how much you continue to tear me apart, my buddy Lich here will remake me and grant me more power! Ssso stop wasting your time and die already!"

"I am really getting tired of his hissing," Lani groaned.

"Give it up, you two," Zidane shouted, as all of us stood by him and got ready to attack, "You can't stop us!" A faint red aura suddenly surrounded the undead Fiend as he started to laugh uncontrollably. "Okay..."

"YOU FOOLS," Lich bellowed, "You think you can defy the Lord of all things impure and dead!? You've done me a favor of scattering this pathetic corpse in front of me!" Hearing that made Scarmigilone gasped in shock, turning his eyes to his cohort, "I am done having to reanimate the dead, when I should have done something to make myself powerful the whole time!" He then started at the remains of his partner, "Now I'll gather everything to remake myself and use it to slaughter your bodies! And with them, I'll become even more powerful and rule this world!"

"What!?" the Archfiend shouted. "You can't do thisss! We're supposssed to be partnersss... cohortsss... mutual friendsss!"

"Then do your _friend_ a favor, and help him get stronger!" the Fiend said it low and dark, making the Archfiend shudder in fear. "And stop your hissing, I might add..."

(Change Music: Theme of Sycho Sid)

Lich screamed loudly as he summoned lightning from the top of the chasm and let it strike him and the dead remains. They all floated in midair, leaving us completely in shock of what was about to happen. Lich's broken arms reformed onto his body, while Scarmigilone's started to break apart more and then spun and surrounded him rapidly. With his arms wrapped around him, Lich commanded the remains to cover his form and molded around his bones. The lightning created a bright light that forced a blinding light that made us all turn away.

Once it was done, we all looked at the new form of Lich... The remains created some kind of 'skin' that looked it could be real skin, and the body was now clad in dark armor with skulls emblazoned across the chest plate, gauntlets, and leg armor. I can especially see Scarmigilone's face upon the stomach area. I then saw something attached to the back, a skeleton of a horse's back to rear end, giving him a centaur's body. But... despite the new look of the body his head was still a demonic skull with its jagged grin, eyeless stare, and sharp horns erupting out of the cranium.

He looked at us all with a dark, low laugh, "Yes, look at me. As you can see, I am now the pinnacle of my undead form and Scarmiglione can become a part of the greatest undead warrior of all time. Now, who wants to be the first to die and become a part of greatness?"

(Play Lord of the Castle from Kingdom Hearts)

"Dragon Kick," I shouted, throwing another kick to send a flame dragon into Lich. He grinned widely, freaking me out, as 'Scarmilgione's' mouth opened up and swallowed the flames! "What!? No way!"

"You see, not evil my old weakness can harm me," Lich laughed darkly, tapping his armor, "That fool now becomes helpful..."

"KWOK!" Choco took flight once more and flapped his wings for his Choco Meteor attack. The burning meteors dropped from his wings, and hit Lich's body from all around. "KWEEEH!" The golden chocobo didn't let up as he charged in for his Rock Breaker, aiming his beak and claws at the still, undead form.

"Flare!" Lich shouted, causing Choco to try and stop once heard the spell. The skeleton centaur raised his hand, searing heat coming from it, "I like my chickens fried and crispy!" That's when I charged in and shoulder tackled the undead Fiend, making him miss the Spell. However, my attempt barely moved him as he grabbed me by throat with his bony hands, choking me. "I can make it painless if you'd prefer that?"

"_Elements of Fire, Ice, and Lightning... combine to create the Beast of Protective Destruction! Rise, Kjata!"_

I heard Lovrina shout as ripple appeared in the ground and headed towards me and Lich, and soon conjured up a giant flame, a spire of ice, and then a bolt of lightning. All of it hit Lich, while I kicked him in the face to make him let go. Then, the remnants of those powers combined and created a massive, brown bull with six slit, yellow eyes, two giant black horns, a red mane and a long, blue tail.

Kjata howled as it charged towards Lich's, it's horns set aflame and charged into the torso. Lich had grunted when he felt the impact and was being pushed slightly by the Eidolon's strength.

"Guys, we have to hurry up and hit him with everything we have," Lovrina shouted, "Kjata's not going to be able to hold him much after everything else we've done!"

"Got it," I shouted as Zidane, Choco, Vivi, Lani joined her in preparation for our joint attack. I had charged up my Aura until it spiked as far as I could make it, "Let's do it! Aura Wave!" I thrust both of my palms towards Lich's new body, launching my devastating attack. Kjata was able to push off Lich, trapping the Fiend into my attack.

"KWEEEEHHHH!" Choco shrieked as he flapped his wings rapidly to unleash his Choco Meteor attack, bombarding on the undead Fiend.

"Flare!" Vivi shouted raising his staff to gather up tremendous Black Magic on the tip and then fired it all in a single spell that shot off into a rocket.

"Big Bang!" Lani added, launching her giant red sphere from her axe and let it expand all over her enemy.

"Kjata, Tetra-Disaster," Lovrina commanded Kjata as it raised itself on its hind legs and then slammed into the ground, shaking it like ocean and let it erupt into more flames, along with ice shards, and lightning bolts all at once.

"Thievery!" Zidane shouted, producing his treasure chest bomb and throwing it within the collective attack, "Hit the dirt!" Once we saw the build-up of a pretty good explosion, all of us ran towards suitable cover. Just in time for the...

*BLAST!*

(End Music)

The explosion had erupted so that it washed over the entire dungeon. Lucky enough, I noticed Lovrina using some kind of protection skill to keep everyone who was locked inside the cells. But once it was over, I saw that everyone got knocked out from it. All except Steiner and me, the former's armor covering his body from the flames adding into our cover. And me, being lucky enough to stick by him, had me protected as well combined with a little of my aura still active.

As for Lich, I saw him on his knees, passed out as well. Steiner and I were surprised that he wasn't dead after all of that power hitting.

"How... could he not be finished?" Steiner gasped, "And everyone is..."

"They're knocked out," I noticed, feeling worried for everyone. "But more importantly, we have to finish off Lich now..."

"But how?" Steiner asked.

"With Excalibur II..."

"You don't know where it is!"

"Then, we'll have to find it..." I replied, looking over the place.

"You'll never find it..." Steiner and I froze in shock as we looked behind us and found Lich standing behind us!

"But..." I looked over to where he was previously standing, and found nothing there!

"It looks like you've run out of options," Lich smirked, "So how would you like to die? Quick and painless? Or Slow and horrible?"

"How about option C!?" I shouted as I went for a quick kick to the face, pushing him back, "Run, Steiner!" Lich growled and smacked me upside the head, across the room. I regained by bearings quick enough to dodge a double stomp by the undead's front two feet, "Thunder Blades!" I transformed my arms, and got ready for the fight. Lich began to slash with his sharp hands, and I had to parry them all as quick as I could.

* * *

><p>(3rd POV)<p>

Steiner could do nothing but try to get everyone in a safe place, away from the battle and then try to revive them with potions, starting with Dagger. Throwing a Potion into the cell, shattering the vial and dousing the contents on the Alexandrian Queen, roused her from her sleep...

"S-Steiner...?" She moaned.

"Princess, are you well?" Steiner asked softly.

Dagger grunted in pain, "I hit... something hard... when I landed..." She had pulled out some kind of sword from underneath her back. The Knight sighed in relief, glad it wasn't the sharp end she landed on. Both of them got a good look at it; it was a well adorned sword, with a red-orange hilt and an opaque-green blade. He gasped as he suddenly realized the identity of the sword.

"Princess, let me have that sword," He said, "Quickly, Ron's in danger!"

* * *

><p>(Ron's POV)<p>

Fighting Lich one-on-one was not the best idea I had, especially since he's a lot more powerful that any of his forms. I was being choked by both of his hands, raising me up high and being shaken violently. "So, this is how it ends?" He sneered, "The man with Eclipse's powers will now die and his flesh and bones will become a part of me. Fitting for the one who did that with the original... I shall relish taking in your strength into my own..."

"Too bad... it's not going to happen... skull face," I grunted out, feeling his grip on my neck tighten. "You shouldn't even... be alive now..."

"Funny how that turned out," Lich stated, "The Four Fiends were supposed to continually resurrect many years ago and for generations to come, until the Warriors of Light stopped us." He then grinned wildly, "But you have notice that as long as we are remembered, we can come back. As for those Archfiends, they're only good enough to do our bidding." He then looked to his armor's 'face', "They are most suitable that way... And there is no 'Option C' for you to take advantage of, so let us revisit this question: How would you like to die: Quick and painless or Slow and horrible?""

"Release him at once, vile Fiend!"

I smirked as I heard Steiner's voice and I saw that Lich got even more annoyed from it, "Looks like Option C is still available..." I then took the time to look around and I was ecstatic at what the Alexandrian Knight was holding... Excalibur II. Steiner was fully armed now, and it's now going to be tough to stop him.

"I will not repeat myself, monster," Steiner shouted, readying himself, "Release my friend!"

Lich laughed, "Or what? Cut me down with that little sword? Knowing you, you'd do it regardless. So..."

"Whoa!" I shouted as he tossed me over to Steiner, making me land on my back.

"I'll relish ripping apart that pathetic armor and retrieving the flesh and bone within," the Fiend of Earth declared.

Gripping Excalibur II tightly, Steiner glared at his opponent, "Then, let us fight and see who the superior one is!"

"As you WISH!"

Both Steiner and Lich charged towards each other, but I can see Lich being the faster one with all four of his legs pushing him. Steiner still had that familiar sound of his rusty metal clacking against the ground, but he still moved well. From the looks of it, Steiner was watching Lich's movement, speed, and how he'd attack so he'd be ready for that fatal swing. Suddenly, Steiner slid to a screeching halt and held his sword at the ready. Lich roared as he raised his right hand and dropped it right when he was about to pass Steiner. That's when the Knight roared also mustering one, strong swing as Lich passed him by with his own slash.

Slience was the sound I heard when Lich stopped moving, and Steiner held his footing once he finished his swing. Seconds later, Steiner was left kneeling on his sword from the pain Lich's slash dealt him. Lich looked behind him, laughing while I gritted my teeth in anger... But both were short lived.

Lich's torso suddenly slid off his new centaur body, leaving him face first on the ground. The rest of him had shattered into bone fragments and ashes, leaving me in shock. "One slash from that sword did that!?" I then noticed that Excalibur II was glowing green on and off like a light bulb, letting me realize one thing. Before I could voice it...

"NOOOOOOOO!" Lich's armor had been slashed off next by the glow of Excalibur II, followed by pieces of him from the waist up. Lich was in disbelief until it reached his face, where his voice was silenced forever. I could do only one thing after seeing that... fall on my back again, sighing in relief that the Four Fiends and the Archfiends were no more.

"The end of those eight freaks..." I said to myself. "Excalibur II, like the original, is a Holy Sword. And Holy has an advantage over the undead; burning off the dark magic that keeps them among the living.

"Ron..." I heard Steiner call to me as he slowly clacked his way over, "Are you well?"

"I'll live," I smiled as he offered me a hand up, in which I took. I then looked at Excalibur II and smiled at it, "So, you finally found it."

"Actually, the Princess found it after she regained consciousness," the Alexandrian Knight stated, "She should be recovering the others right about now."

"Then, let's regroup and get the Hell out of here..." I said, walking over towards the cells.

* * *

><p>(Minutes Later)<p>

After being healed by Steiner's potion, Dagger had revived Eiko first and together they healed the rest of us. Soon after, we had Bahamut and Choco fly us out of the giant hole that Scarmilgilone dug to lead us into that crypt. All the while, Steiner received praise for being the one who put down Lich when no else could. He tried to place it on his new sword, which everyone also praised, but I was able to convince him that he knew how to use it. Soon, we were back at the previous room, still in the palace-style setting overlooking space.

"So, where to?" Amarant asked me. I simply pointed at the passage without a door, nothing but space onward, "But there's nothing out there..."

"There's space..." I corrected.

"He meant nothing to walk on," Lani sighed.

"Relax guys," Zidane shrugged, "There's probably a walkway, just invisible."

"Exactly," I noted. "And from beyond there, we reach the origin of all things... The Crystal..."

"A crystal?" Lovrina asked.

"Yep, the holder of all memories and existence... Also, it's what the Iifa Tree is blocking, the cycle of life."

"Meaning, these are where the souls are supposed to go," Eiko asked.

"And then, the Eidolons were created to protect it," I realized, "That's more reason why Madain Sari was by Terra and how they got Gaia's souls. With their souls, Terra could merge its crystal, its core, with Gaia's."

"Now, I really get what Garland said to us back at Pandemonium..." Zidane noted.

* * *

><p>(Flashback)<p>

_Garland pointed to the red part of the planet, "That is the center of the planet. The end and the beginning of the cycle of souls. The light remains Gaia's for now, but when the blue changes to crimson, all will belong to Terra and its restoration will be complete." He then reached the top and stared back us, "That is why I had Eclipse wrapped up the light in the Iifa Tree, to prevent the cycle of the judgment of souls on Gaia from inside the planet. Such is the Iifa Tree's true purpose, its true form. All you saw was its material form. The flow of Gaia's souls cannot be changed by stopping the disposal of the Mist."_

(End Flashback)

* * *

><p>"And I guess that's why Terra could still assimilate Gaia," Zidane added, as we remembered that statement by Garland, "Meaning, we have to hurry up and get to Kuja..." He then turned to us, "I'm going up ahead... I'm not letting this place freak us out any longer."<p>

All of us nodded as he walked towards the vastness of space and pretty soon he was floating higher, giving us a shock. He turned back to us and grinned as he floated up higher. I could only laugh as I said, "Let's not give him all the fun and glory!" All of us then followed after the Genome and flew right after him. All of us were surrounded by the stars until one by one, they faded away until it was pitch black... Darkness... Before anyone could react, a bright light enveloped us and took us in and we all blanked out...

* * *

><p>Phew... a long time coming, and I did it! Now there's so much to do and such little time to do it in!<p>

Next time: We are introduced to a new dimension. (Scene of a realm made of crystal)

Of course, the local monsters have some 'letting go' issues (Scene of four familiar monsters)

But what the Hell is going on with this? (Scene of a new monster, unfamiliar to Ron)

Next Chapter: The Origin... The Crystal

Please Review! Later!


End file.
